The Bayonne Truck (Hook and Ladder House) #1 was constructed in 1875 as a two-story masonry building with Italianate details that was later clad in stucco. In the late nineteenth century, fire continued to be an ever-present threat in dense, urban areas. Fire proved to be a motivating factor for Bayonne to seek a City Charter in 1869 so they could create and control a volunteer fire department. An ordinance to create the fire department passed in 1870 and Bayonne Truck House #1 was completed in 1875. The volunteer fire department operated in this building until 1906 when Bayonne’s first full-time fire department took over the space. A larger firehouse was completed nearby in 1928 and soon after the fire department relocated to the new space. In 1929, the City of Bayonne turned over operation of Truck House #1 to the Volunteer Firemen’s Association (sometimes referred to as the Exempt Fireman’s Association), who has operated the space on and off as a museum.  

The Trust grant helped fund a Historic Preservation Plan for the Bayonne Truck House, known in the community as the John T. Brennan Fire Museum.