Ulster County Fire Museum-Ulster County Fairgrounds
249 Liberty Road
New Paltz, NY 12561
(845) 255-1380
Open: When the fairgrounds are open for events
Admission: Free but donations are accepted
My review on TripAdvisor:
The Ulster County Fire Department Museum at the Ulster County Fairgrounds
The Ulster County Fire Department Museum is a unique little museum in that it is only open when the fairgrounds are open. It staffed by volunteers from Ulster County’s Volunteer Fire Departments. From the age of most of the volunteers, I could tell as a retired fireman, were all the guys whose firemen days at behind them. Still they are committed firefighters and have some good stories to tell.
The inside of the museum
The museum is more of an exhibition than a museum but for a small museum it packed with all sorts of artifacts, fire fighting equipment and memorabilia on the early days of fire fighting.
The old fire department medallions that showed what fire department would come to your home because of the company fire insurance you paid to them.
Some of the older artifacts they had were these fire department medallions from the various fire companies that existed that people paid into to protect their homes. Those were the days when the companies used to compete to be the best.
The collection of patches and awards
The museum contained a large collection of awards, ribbons and patches from fire departments from all over the local area and beyond. The collection included ribbons from various competitions and conventions, company emblems and events over the years.
Fire fighter mugs from various departments and events
The museum has an extensive collection of commemorative mugs. These are sold or given by fire department and companies to mark anniversaries and special events. These mugs mark the special occasions in a fire fighters career. As a fireman I have also found that these pile up quickly in your cupboards.
Department mugs from various department events and from companies
The museum had an extensive collection of toy fire trucks and games on display. There were samples of these out in front of the museum for the kids to play with that day.
The collection of fire trucks on display
The museum put the bunker gear we firefighters use on calls. This protects us in the weather conditions as well.
The fire fighter bunker gear used on calls
The emergency gear we use on calls on roadways and incidents
I got to talking with the volunteer firemen from Ulster County and like most departments around the country, they are having problems finding volunteers to man the departments. It is a tough field and people don’t want to do it for free anymore. I figure like a lot of towns around us, the departments will be paid soon. That is the wave of the future.
Firefighter Scooby Doo protecting the museum
Still the firefighters from Ulster County do a nice job maintaining this museum. For a one room museum, it is packed by information and manned by firefighters who care about the profession.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 