Old Firehouse
This wood frame, false front commercial building was built at the turn of the twentieth century. “Drummers,” or traveling salesmen, used the building to display their goods to local merchants. Later it served the town as the firehouse and may have served for a time as the post office.
Located at 44 North Main Street in Spring City, Utah
This typical storefront built by Orson Allred (1856-1934) is a small, rectangular, gabled building with a tall “false front” above the gable. The wood-frame, wood-sided structure is somewhat atypical in a town of so many stone and brick buildings.
Orson Allred operated a hotel across the street and built this store as a “sample room” or “drummer” for traveling salesmen staying at his hotel. Here salesmen displayed their various wares in the small area, while the town’s four retail store managers came to purchase favored items for resale. Spring City acquired this small building for its first fire station, which housed a hand-pumped water dispenser that long-time residents still remember. After larger fire fighting vehicles came into usage, this building was used for City storage. Recently the Spring City Historic Preservation Committee has cleaned the interior and restored the exterior by painting it and installing a new roof and cement steps. A visitor center will be housed in this old fire station.*
