As the new Aldie Fire & Rescue Station is now under construction just west of Gilbert's Corner, we were recently asked about where our first fire station was located.
Our first fire engine was stored at Aldie Garage on the west end of the village. In 1956, we purchased our first fire station, which was an old Esso gas station that sat adjacent to the Aldie Stone Bridge in what is now the front parking lot of our current fire station. This building was demolished soon after our current fire station was built in 1971.
A few years ago, we found a photo from 1935 in the National Archives that showed the Aldie Stone Bridge over Little River, as well as the garage that became our first fire station. We also have a photo of the rear of the fire station from 1964 from the Loudoun Times-Mirror. This photo showed our first brand-new fire engine, which cost a whopping $17,000!
1935 National Archives photo of the Aldie Stone Bridge and the garage that became our first fire station.
The first new fire engine purchased by the Aldie Volunteer Fire Department was this 1964 American La France. This photo was taken in what is now our front parking lot soon after the engine was delivered. In this photo from left to right are Aldie Volunteer Fire Department members Hugh Downs, Fritz Hutchison, Louis Carter, Buzzy Carter (our current chief), and Bobby Tyler. (Loudoun Times-Mirror photo).
