Historian Jeff Murray takes a look into West Hartford’s past to uncover some surprising information, stir up some memories, or reflect on how much life has changed – or hasn’t changed at all. Enjoy this week’s ‘From West Hartford’s Archives’ …

By Jeff Murray

This is a photograph of the firefighters of the Quaker Hose Company in the fall of 1921. It covered the Quaker Lane area of town before the establishment of formal fire districts.

The primary reason behind the establishment of a fire company in this region came from a disastrous blaze that destroyed four homes on Raymond Road in the summer of 1907, which started from an oil stove fire in a kitchen. Members of the volunteer Fountain Hose Company (which had formed in 1879) rushed to Raymond Road (known as School Street at the time for

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