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Every Evening, Wilmington paper, Monday, December 27, 1886 : Page 1, column 3, top of page
Picture: Dean Woolen Mills - erected in 1853 (as it appeared before December 25, 1886, fire)

NEWARK'S CONFLAGRATION
The large Dean Woolen Mills in Ashes
Engines sent from Wilmington

A Bad outlook for 800 people who were dependent on the Mills for support -Loss exceeds $900,000 with insurance of $153,000. Alarm was sounded at 0910 by a long blast of the steam whistle, after discovery of dense smoke in the buildings. Employees using Mill hose and buckets tried hopelessly to control the fire. The Mill and four houses completely destroyed. The employees now out of work and their dependents, totaling 800, are more than one-third of the entire population of the town. Engines sent from Wilmington fire companies - the Phoenix and the Weocacoe companies responded.

The following pages are a detailed history of the Aetna Hose, Hook, and Ladder Company of Newark, Delaware. The above newspaper excerpt was one of the deciding factors to establish a fire department in Newark two years later. This history has been compiled after many man-hours of research and is accompanied by highly specific details and some pictures.