DALTON, Mass. — A long lost original copy of the founding charter of the Fire District was literally just filed away.

 

The Historical Commission said at its Wednesday meeting that it had located the charter in a file cabinet under the Fire Department section in an Annual Reports of The Dalton Fire District pamphlet from April 10, 1885.  

 

Although the Fire District was established in 1884, co-Chair Debora Kovacs said she wanted to look through the pamphlet and was excited to discover the Act of the Establishment of the Dalton Fire District included in the report. 

 

The commission is unsure where the original charter is located but suspected that it may have been sent to the state when it was first established. 

 

What happened to it after that is unclear due to how long ago it was but the state has accepted the archived one and is now allowing the Fire District to apply for grants. 

 

The commission has an extensive collection of historical documents and is still educating itself on where everything is, said co-Chair Debora Kovacs

 

Fire Chief James Peltier attended the commission's last meeting requesting assistance in locating the charter noting how the state's System for Award Management was not willing to accept dates and needed the original charter as proof.

 

Although having a copy of the charter might work in some areas it is very difficult to have one

when your department is one of the first in the nation, he said. 

 

During the period of 1873 through 1883, Dalton experienced rapid growth to the point its few wells could not keep up with the demand of drinking water and fire protection. 

 

Seven paper-making mills were lost to a fire so "Lt. Governor Byron Weston, Zenas Crane Jr. and other leading citizens examined the area for new sources and ways to supply water," according to the history posted on the fire district's website.