Following an unnamed collector’s offer to sell a 1931 Seagrave fire truck to the Hillsdale County Historical Society for a reduced price, the society is trying to raise $10,000 to bring the truck back to the city.
“This truck is a very important part of Hillsdale’s history and we would like to see it come back,” Historical society board member Kathy Fowler said.
The Seagrave truck served the City of Hillsdale from the 1930s until the 1950s. It was brought out of retirement after intense restoration to serve once again in 1976.
After it was retired a second time, the city kept the truck in storage. When it became to burdensome to store, the city sold it to a museum in Saline, Michigan.
The museum eventually sold the truck to a private collector in Jackson, who fully restored it with original axes, helmets, silver bell, ladders and hoses.
According to Fowler, after the private collector who bought the truck eventually found that it did not fit his collection — as most of the trucks he owned were from Jackson county — he listed it online before making a special offer to the historical society.
“He lowered his price significantly and is giving us a very fair deal on it,” Fowler said.
To buy the truck and restore the barn behind the Will Carleton Poorhouse where the society plans to store and maintain it, the historical society is trying to raise the money from the community. Fowler originally posted about the truck on the society’s Facebook page, but when it proved popular, she turned created a separate GoFundMe page.
“We need to make sure this truck is safe and secure,” she said.