In the autumn of 1758, General John Forbes left Fort Ligonier with an army of over 7,000 British and Colonial troops.  He had decided to confront the French and Indian contingents at Fort Duquesne.

When this march was over, Fort Duquesne had become Fort Pitt, and a 45-foot wide road stretched all the way from Ligonier to Pittsburgh.  The new Forbes Road passed through a densely wooded valley that would remain unnamed for another 62 years.

Then, during the year that the Revolutionary War ended, 1781, a 22-year-old Irish immigrant, Jeremiah Murry (born McMurry) arrived in the United States.  A peddler, he headed West, stopping long enough to meet, court, and marry Ann Montgomery of the Cumberland Valley.

The young peddler resumed his trek on foot.  After crossing the crest of the Allegheny Mountains, he sold his entire inventory of wares and began looking for some land to buy.  He continued down the well traveled Forbes Road to the heavily wooded area that Forbes, George Washington, and countless others had been passing through since 1758.  It was here that Jeremiah Murry decided to settle.

After walking to the government land office in Pittsburgh, obtaining title to this parcel of land, and walking back again.  Murry went to work, chopping down, clearing the land, and building a home (near where the Murrysville Presbyterian Church now stands).

He built a log cabin to house his family and to serve as a general.  As the traffic continued to grow on Forbes Road and the adjacent Frankstown Path, the family prospered, adding a grist mill and saw mill to their expanding business ventures.

Frankstown Path developed into Frankstown Road and, by 1819 had become part of the Northern Turnpike.  New settlers moved into the area, including another Irish immigrant family- Archibald Mellon, his son, Andrew, and their families.

Jeremiah's wife, Ann, died in 1819, while he was preparing the plot for a town.  The 40-year-old Murry pressed on with his plans and, in 1820, founded the town of Murrysville.  That same year, he was remarried to the widowed Mrs. Satiah Reppey.

While Murrysville was becoming the commercial center of Franklin Township, its founder's health slowly deteriorated.  Suffering from severe rheumatism, Jeremiah became almost invalid, and his second wife, Satiah, had to take over the operation of the various Murry businesses.

In 1835, at age 76, Jeremiah Murry - miller, merchant, justice of the peace - died.  Satiah Murry left Murrysville to live with her brother and, in 1857, died and was buried in nearby Penn Hills.

Life pressed on in the small, but prosperous, community.  The growth continued and, in 1861, the first formal school in Murrysville, the Turtle Creek Academy, was established by Francis Laird Stewart.  Then, an event was to occur which was to earn Murrysville some world-wide attention.

Obediah and Michael Haymaker, drilling for oil in 1878, struck natural gas in the town.  The well, which was then believed to be the largest in the world, caught fire in 1881 and couldn't be extinguished.  The combination of the roar of the burning, escaping gas and the brilliance of its flame drew international attention.  In 1882, the historian, George Dallas Albert called it "one of the greatest wonders of the day" and added, "it can truly be said of Murrysville...there is no night there, for the country for miles around is made light as day."

The Haymaker Well was finally capped, extinguishing the fire.  It and the other gas wells in Murrysville were to be instrumental in the beginnings of two major gas operations - Peoples (now Dominion) and Philadelphia (now Equitable) natural gas companies.

The famous Haymaker well fire and a later fire which consumed half the town left a lasting impression on the hundred or so residents of Murrysville at the time.

And, when a fire occurred, the entire town responded.  Murrysville's women served as the first alarm system, passing on the cry "fire" from house to house.  The men of the town immediately dropped what they were doing, grabbed any available buckets, and, following the directions of the women, ran to the fire.  A bucket brigade was then set up from the hand pump nearest to the flames.

But, Murrysville continued to grow, and so did the fire risk.  Each new home, barn, or building represented a potential fire.  The community tried to adjust to the increased threat.  Church bells replaced the shouts of women as the alarm system.  And, after World War I, citizen donations enabled the purchase of three hand-pulled carts which carried fire extinguishing fluids and hose.

In spite of these efforts, fire continued to consume some of the town's most important structures.  Finally, after fire had destroyed such landmarks as the livery stable (near what is now Ferri's Foodland) and the Methodist parsonage (near the present location of the Murrysville Methodist Church), Harry S Patty, a local store keeper, and Thomas King, a Peoples Gas Company employee, called for the community to organize a fire company.

On Monday night, May 16, 1927, twenty-four men met a Patty's store:

Harry Patty was elected the first chief of the newly created Murrysville Volunteer Fire Company, and W. Scott King was voted as the first president.  Thirteen men signed the organization's charter.  Like the community, itself, they represented all walks of life.

In 1928, at a site near where the old livery stable had been destroyed by fire, a garage was built and became the first Murrysville fire station.  And, two years later, the MVFC purchased a modern fire truck - a 1930 Dodge / Howe pumper.

Throughout the 1930's, in spite of the economic hardships of the great depression, the fledgling volunteer fire company survived, relying on public donations and an annual fair.  In fact, during this period, Chief Patty and his group of firefighters faced an expanded coverage area well beyond the town of Murrysville.  Including brush fire control for an area covering all of Franklin Township and, at times, extending north to parts of Washington Township and west to sections of Plum Borough and what is now Monroeville.

For twenty years, the MVFC continued to provide fire protection using its 1930 truck and working out of its original garage fire station.  But, in January, 1949, a disastrous fire was to occur which would launch the Murrysville Volunteer Fire Company into an aggressive equipment updating which has continued even through today.

A famous roadside inn which has become one of Western Pennsylvania's best known restaurants, the "House by the Side of the Road", caught fire.  The three story, wooden frame and stucco building burned quickly and outstripped the capabilities of the fire company's 19-year old pumper.  When the smoke cleared, the Murrysville landmark was totally destroyed and four people had perished.

The fire stunned the community.  That same year, a new 1949 GMC/Howe pumper was purchased.  Plans were made for a new fire station.  A local store-keeper, Aquino John, spent a year obtaining the sales approval of over twenty heirs, scattered over the U.S., who were part owners of an almost eight acre section of land on Sardis Road.  Through the sustained support and backing of Dr. George O. Hall, physician, J. M. Hall, Sr., contractor, Charles Nobs, store-owner, James C. Tallant, lawyer, and F. M. Sloan, independent gas producer, the fire company was able to secure a mortgage and purchase the land for which John had obtained sales releases. And in 1952, the volunteers began building a new fire station on the current MVFC grounds.

As had been the case since General Forbes had built his road in 1758, Murrysville's strategic location on the developing network of highways in Western Pennsylvania was continuing to affect the town's growth and its fire safety needs.  The original Frankstown Path had been transformed into U. S. Route 22.  The Pennsylvania Turnpike now passed nearby.  And, with the completion of the Parkway East, Murrysville's traffic and population began to expand rapidly, placing ever increasing demands on the local fire company.

A major car - truck accident at the key intersection of Route 22 and Mill Street (Vincent Hall Dr. today) in 1968, resulted in two fatalities. The steadily mounting traffic dangers of the community were becoming clear.  And, the Murrysville Fire Company responded by making highway rescue one of its primary responsibilities.  The next year, a rescue squad ambulance was purchased, and the company's volunteer firemen hand built an emergency lighting truck.  The regular training sessions at the fire station now included major programs in highway rescue.

As both companies grew larger and became more active, a change was needed to better accommodate each of the facilities.  So in 1980 the two department's switched buildings, with the fire company taking over their original building and the ambulance company using the newer station.  MVFC added two wings to house a new ladder truck and to provide additional space to support future expansion.

With the addition of the new ladder truck in 1982, the eighties brought two more pieces of firefighting equipment with a new Heavy Rescue truck in 1984 and an Emergency One pumper in 1986.  It was a good decade for the department, sporting three state of the art fire apparatuses the Murrysville Fire Company was well on its way of becoming one of the best equipped fire departments in the county     

Since then, as Murrysville's growth has sustained its dramatic pace, so has its volunteer fire department.  Today, the MVFC operates four pieces of fire apparatus equipped with the latest in fire technology advancements.  All four units have a special and unique characteristic element that prolongs its use and worth, to continue the history and legacy of the Murrysville Volunteer Fire Company.

The siren and electronic home alert monitors have replaced the women's shouts of "fire" as the means of summoning the community firefighters.  Sophisticated, modern, equipment-laden trucks now roll in place of hand-pulled carts.  Compulsory, highly technical, formal training programs have replaced the trial and error of the past.

But one thing in Murrysville has not changed over the past 75 years.  When the fire alarm sounds, the volunteer firefighters from all walks of life drop whatever they're doing and immediately rush to the fire station.  Firefighters scramble into their boots, pants, coats, and helmets and become trained, dedicated volunteers, not for money, glory, or excitement, but because their friends and neighbors need help.