The City of Village history

The potter’s field was closed in 1826 and transformed successively into a military parade grounds and a spacious pedestrian commons.

The first recorded fire in Chagrin Falls history occurred in October of 1834.

Religious denominations commissioned buildings with elaborate decorative schemes, New York University grew on the east side of Washington Square beginning in 1836, and the neighborhood soon became the site of art clubs, private picture galleries, learned societies, literary salons, and libraries.

Over the next ten years the little community by the falls grew from a hamlet of seven families to become an incorporated Village in 1845.

Over the next ten years the little community by the falls grew from a hamlet of seven families to become an incorporated Village in 1845. It wasn’t until 1868 when an entire row of stores North of the Main Street bridge were completely destroyed that Mayor J.W. Williams and Village Council purchased a hook and ladder, buckets and ladders.

The Village of Scotia Fire Department was formed in 1873 after a string of arson fires within the community.

James wrote his Washington Square in 1880 and many of Wharton’s books, including The Age of Innocence, take place in the Village during this era.

Platted in 1890, the tiny community lay in Section 30 of Township 13 North, Range 3 West, in Britton Township.

Despite more commercial nature of the area, in 1892 the Stanford White designed Washington Square Arch was permanently constructed in marble and the area around the Park was immortalized in the writing of Henry James and Edith Wharton.

In 1908, the village built a fire station on Mohawk Avenue, the same station used today.

In 1910, the John Miller Hook & Ladder Company was formed, and a horse drawn hook and ladder was purchased.

The fire departments equipment was hauled by horses until the Village purchased its first motorized fire engine in 1923.

They held various fund raisers to purchase a 1924 model T Ford Engine that held (3) thirty-five gallon chemical tanks.

Until 1926, fire protection for the unincorporated town of Woodlawn was provided by the city of Cincinnati for a cost of $125.00 per response.

The pumper, a 1927 American-LaFrance 1000-gallon pumper, had been the first fire truck of the Rumson Fire Department and became the pride and joy of the Old Village Fire Company.

The airport was opened in 1928 at the corner of Britton Road and May Avenue, outside Oklahoma City's limits.

In 1930, the Men’s Club purchased a "Reo Speedwagon" fire engine.

January 1931 was the first meeting in the new Chippewa Lake Fire Station that is currently occupied by the Chippewa Lake post office.

Beginning December 12, 1935, and for many years after, the motto was on the masthead of the Herald.

The first brand new fire engine was not purchased till 1939 the net price was $1616.28

The 1940’s saw the purchase of more modern firefighting equipment, trucks that could carry as much as five times more water than previous apparatus.

When the Village of Woodlawn became incorporated in 1941, it was able to use money received from state and county tax systems to provide village services.

Because much of the Woodlawn area did not have fire hydrants, in 1942 the Office of Civil Defense loaned to Woodlawn a "pumper" that could draft water from wells, cisterns and other water sources.

The first piece of new equipment purchased by the village was a 1948 Mack pumper.

Houses began to rise in 1949 in section 31 when Clarence E. Duffner platted The Village Addition to Nichols Hills (this area was not included in the original incorporated town of The Village). Floyd Harrison also platted an addition in the area.

The Town of The Village was incorporated in January 1950 to include Casady Heights (first addition), which encompassed 135 acres under development by Floyd and Joe Bob Harrison and Sylvanus Felix, plus The Village Extended Addition and The Village Second Addition, both being built by Duffner.

Chippewa Lake Fire Department was the only fire department in Lafayette Township till 1954.

On March 23, 1955, 25 men assembled at the church and took part in the first discussions.

On May 14, 1956 at a meeting of the Middletown Township Fire Department and on a recommendation of Chief Joseph Munch, the members voted to accept the Old Village Fire Company as a company of the department.

On March 18, 1957, the deed for a new piece of property on Route 35 was acquired.

In 1959, with the community eligible to become a city of the first class, voters adopted a home rule charter with mayor-council form of government.

By 1960, however, Oklahoma City had blocked The Village's further expansion, and afterward the town remained at 2.5 square miles bordered by Oklahoma City on the east, north, and west, and by Oklahoma City and Nichols Hills on the south.

Lafayette and Chippewa Lake Fire Departments provided only fire protection to the residents of Lafayette Township and Chippewa Lake until 1976 when the state notified the funeral homes of tougher state regulations.

Vivian found an article in a 1977 Herald, in which her husband wrote about Malcolm Mollan's creation of the motto A City of Village Charm.

In 1978 a levy was passed and a new squad was purchased.

In the 1980 the Village appointed its first full time Fire Chief, John “Jack” Phillips.

The Auxiliary Department served its purpose well for the years until it was replaced by the current membership rank and class system in 1981.

The LGBT Community Center has been a home and resource hub for the LGBT community in New York City since its founding in 1983.

In the 1990’s the Fire Department started to look as it does today with the purchase of modern, customized “E-One” Engine and Ladder Trucks as well as a move to large Rescue Squads.

Lillie-Beth Sanger, "The Village Growth Spurt Expected to Slow," Daily Oklahoman, 7 July 1993.

In October of 1995, the department expanded the on station program by hiring three (3) additional persons and starting a 24/48-hour rotating schedule.

Until the year 1999 two separate fire chiefs headed Lafayette Township and Chippewa Lake Fire Department.

Gansevoort Market Historic District Designation Report Designated September, 2003, and nominated by GVSHP’s Save Gansevoort Market project, this report includes the history of gay establishments in the area and the area’s historic role in New York’s gay community.

127 MacDougal Street Landmark Designation Report Designated June, 2004, nominated by GVSHP and the NY Landmarks Conservancy.

Weehawken Street Historic District Designation Report Designated May, 2005 in response to GVSHP’s “Campaign to Save the Far West Village.” Includes history of gay establishments in the area and the area’s historic role in New York’s gay community.

Village Preservation first proposed the Stonewall for landmark designation in early 2014, and spearheaded the campaign to get the City to take this action.

History was made and preserved on June 23, 2015, as the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to approve landmark designation of the Stonewall Inn at 51-53 Christopher Street.

Of course our Town Historian, Vivian Ferguson [Webmaster's note: Vivian was town historian until her death in 2017 at the age of 92; see more about Vivian], has lots of information about The Manchester Herald, having written for it, and also being married to its publisher, the late Tom Ferguson.