City of Painesville history

The town’s most prominent resident during its first years of existence was Ohio Governor Samuel Huntington, who died in Painesville in 1817.

Painesville grew quickly, having 1,014 residents in 1840.

In 1846, the town contained four churches, fourteen stores, one flour mill, one bank, and one newspaper office.

1849 - Fire Engine Company #2 was founded.

The city remained mainly residential until World War II; since then it has developed industrially as part of Lake Erie’s “chemical shore.” Inc. city, 1851.

Lake Erie College was founded in 1856.

1871 - The Painesville Fire Department devises a system of cistern water reserves, the largest held over 3,000 gallons of water.

The Paige Manufacturing Company, a machine works, was Painesville’s largest employer in 1886, with forty-eight workers.

Grover Cleveland’s first termThe surplus and the tariffThe public domainThe Interstate Commerce ActThe election of 1888

1893 - The fire station on N. St Clair is damaged by fire.

1900 - Tim Morgan is selected as the first full-time Fire Chief.

1915 - The fire department purchases its first motorized apparatus, a Ford Runabout.

A 1921 American LaFrance fire pumper, the first motorized fire engine, is purchased ending the horse-drawn age.

The peak Cold War years, 1945–60The Truman Doctrine and containmentPostwar domestic reorganizationThe Red ScareThe Korean WarPeace, growth, and prosperityEisenhower’s second termDomestic issuesWorld affairsAn assessment of the postwar era

1946 - The department purchases a Buffalo fire engine.

1948 - The department obtains its first power assisted 75 foot aerial, an American LaFrance.

1962 - Painesville Fire Department ushers in the age of EMS with the purchase of a Ford Heavy Rescue vehicle.

1963 - City passes an operating levy to help fund the fire department.

1972 - The department purchases a 90 foot aerial, an American LaFrance snorkel, to replace the older 75 foot aerial.

1975 - Captain Sherman Reed designs the department’s first arm patch.

1991 - The department hires its first African American firefighter.

1997 - The City begins operating a paramedic program.

In 2000, it ranked a distant fourth in size among Lake County towns, with just over 17,500 residents.

2003 - EMS billing is instituted to help fund the department.

2008 - The department hires its first female firefighter.