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Interpreting the Evidence

Collecting Water to Fight a Forest Fire, 1920s

  • Documents in this Activity:
  • Historical Eras:

    Turn of the Century and WWI (1890 - 1930)

  • Thinking Skill:

    Historical Analysis & Interpretation

  • Grade Level:

    Lower Elementary
    Upper Elementary
    Middle School
    High School
    College University

  • Topics:

    Adirondacks
    Environment
    Labor

  • Primary Source Types:

    Photograph

  • Regions:

    North Country
    New York State

  • Creator:

    NYS Archives Partnership Trust Education Team

  1. Load Collecting Water to Fight a Forest Fire, 1920s in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Document Description
Men fill buckets of water for a spray pump that is used to fight a forest fire, probably in the Adirondack Mountains, 1920s.
Historical Context
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a multitude of large, dangerous, and expensive forest fires caused New York State to dedicate new manpower and develop new technologies for reporting forest fires throughout the Adirondack Forest Preserve. The "great fires" of 1903 and 1908, which consumed nearly one million acres of forest, led to the creation of fire districts with fire superintendents, fire patrolmen, and a systematic approach to address citizens' concerns about forest fire management in the Adirondacks. In 1909, the first Adirondack fire tower was built.
 
Essential Question
How do human settlement patterns impact the environment?
 
Check for Understanding
Describe the scene in the photograph and explain why this process was needed.
Historical Challenges
Research the origins of Smokey the Bear.
 
Interdisciplinary Connections
English Language Arts: Write a newspaper article as if it were the year 1900 that describes safety precautions one must take to prevent forest fires.
Art: Create a poster for fire safety week.