This leather bucket features scroll work and lettering that reads “North Troy.” This may refer to the community of North Troy, Vermont. The town of Troy was chartered in 1801, and in 1803, its name was changed from the Abenaki Indian “Missisquoi,” to Troy. Because of its nearness to Canada, this area had a large number of French Canadian immigrants. The early settlers of North Troy were described in a 1966 Vermont Guide as “a high-spirited, reckless lot with a strong love for excitement.” North Troy, a small village in the northern part of the town, was incorporated in 1876. A series of disastrous fires destroyed much of North Troy. For example, a fire in 1868 consumed the town store, hotel, a grocery, and two barns.
By 1868, a number of American cities had acquired steam engines for their fire departments (the first successful American steamer was built in Cincinnati in 1852). Steam engines could pump more water in a shorter amount of time, and required less manpower than the old hand-pumped engines. Many cities were also transitioning from volunteer to professional firefighting during this time period. New York, for example, got a paid fire department in 1865. Running a steam engine required specialized expertise, not just the strength and endurance that communities valued in their volunteer firefighters. The new paid departments were guided by the principle of efficiency. A small community like North Troy, however, would not have been able to afford the latest firefighting technology, and in all likelihood would not yet have established a paid fire department when it was ravaged by fire in 1868.