The ad that appears on the internet relative to a Newton property at 50 Diller Ave. reads: "Now is your chance to own a piece of Newton history! Introducing to the market for the first time since 2001, this single-family home was the Newton Fire Department's Diller Ave. Hose Co. No. 3. Built in 1902, so that there was a firehouse that supported the H.W. Merriam Shoe Company and that part of town, this property boasts much of the original features like the brick exterior, slate roof, hardwood floors, wood molding and trim, and high ceilings. The foundation for the water tower still exists in the lovely garden in the back. 115 years later, this property has character and charm, and remains an important part of Newton's history."
(The asking price is $275,000; current taxes, $5,859; and the property is located in a T-4 Neighborhood Services Zone. "The T-4 transect zone covers smaller mixed-use neighborhood centers and supports larger neighborhood centers that provide local services to neighborhoods. These small neighborhood mixed-use commercial areas provide a sense of place and identity to the neighborhood which surrounds it.")
The Town of Newton's fire department history enjoys an interesting look into the past, and the Hose Co. No. 3, a relatively new kid on the block, was no different.
All local histories of the Newton Fire Department appear to commence with the same beginning. "Once upon a time, prior to the legal formation of a fire department, there were 14 leather buckets hanging on a pole in the basement of the Court House in Newton, that constituted the entire town's fire protection." It was from this humble beginning that the fire department evolved into today's fire protection, which includes three firehouses and a fire museum.