By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

The first piece of fire apparatus purchased in Sanatoga during 1908 cost $796.

SANATOGA PA – If a kitchen fire suddenly broke out at Cutillo’s Restaurant, at the corner of East High Street and Sanatoga Road, the Sanatoga Fire Company would likely respond within minutes of getting a call. Maybe the Ringing Hill Fire Company would be summoned to assist. And thanks to a quick response by volunteers and modern apparatus from both, it’s a good bet Cutillo’s would be saved with little damage.

But what if there were no fire companies to rely on?

That was the fate of the now-gone Longview Hotel, which burned to the ground as a result of a destructive fire in 1905. The Longview might still be located down South Sanatoga Road from Cutillo’s, near the entrance to what once was the fabled Sanatoga Park but, sadly, no fire company had been organized in the area closer than the one in Pottstown.

Consequently, 1905 became the year in which Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township residents recognized their need for a fire company of their own. Three years later, in January 1908, what is now known as the Sanatoga Fire Company was incorporated. It was about 32 members strong at the time.

By comparison, Ringing Hill's first fire truck, bought 50 years later, cost $25,000.

As the township grew a second fire company – Ringing Hill – was also deemed necessary. In January 1956, 23 men met at the Ringing Rocks Park Roller Skating Rink, not to skate but to form The Ringing Hill Fire Company.

The Sanatoga and Ringing Hill companies marked their 103rd and 55th anniversaries, respectively, last month (January 2011).

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month at it museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Society membership is open to the public.

Photos from the Historical Society