Circa 1870, the Wirt and Knox Company of Philadelphia, PA, manufactured this hose reel cart, a piece of firefighting equipment that served the lumber mills of Simpson and Company, then the Stearns and Culver Company, and later the Bagdad Land and Lumber Company. These portable hose reels were used primarily by small towns, villages, and railroads. When a fire broke out, typically four volunteers pulled the cart to the scene, connected it to a fire hydrant, and fought the blaze. As firefighting methods improved, hose carts were replaced by fire trucks with pumpers to deliver the water. The families of Leo V. Davis, Sr. and sons, Leo V. Davis, Jr. and John H. Davis stored and preserved the hose cart and made it available for display in Bagdad, FL.