History of the 1938 Ford fire truck owned by the Milan Area Historical Society.
When Henry Ford was acquiring vehicles for his new musuem at Greenfield Village in
Dearborn, Michigan, he attempted to purchase the 1926 Ford Model T fire truck owned
by the Village of Milan. He had seen it during his visits to his coil factory in Milan.
The truck was still in excellent condition. When he couldn't reach an agreeable
purchase price with the Village Council, he offered a trade. He would swap a new
1938 Ford fire truck for the 1926 Model T. The new truck would be equipped with
an 85 horsepower, flat head, V-8 engine and five large soda-acid tanks for quelling
fires. Th truck trade took place in May of 1938.
The soda-acid tanks didn't work out too well so they were discarded in favor of
a 500 gallon water tank and 250 feet of rubber hose, wound on an overhead reel.
After many years of faithful service to the fire department, the truck was retired
to the Milan D.P.W. where it was used to "lay the dust" on dirt streets via an
application of oil.
In 1972, the Milan City Council donated the decrepit truck to the Milan Area
Historical Society. It has since undergone a "ground-up" restoration and is
used in parades and special events.