Lysander Button

Who was Lysander Button?

Lysander Button was the inventor of many of the early improvements made on hand and steam fire engines. Many of those improvements made their way to the modern fire engines of today.

Button was born in North Haven, Connecticut on September 2, 1810 but moved with his parents to Albany by 1825. After John Rogers relocated his machine shop from Albany to a spot on King’s Canal in Waterford, Saratoga County, New York, Button found a job there as a machinist. Rogers manufactured fire engines and had even submitted two patents in the 1830s. Rogers sold the shop to William Platt and Judge Nicholas Doe, who expanded the product line to include other castings such as iron water wheels. Without the advantages of a formal education, Button became foreman in the shop by 1833 and was named a partner the following year.

In 1841, Platt sold his share of the business to Button, who became the sole owner after Judge Doe died. For the next fifteen years the business was known as L. Button & Company, which continued to operate on Kings Canal. Button later moved to a steam-powered building on Third Street in the Village of Waterford. Most of his innovations were for the so-called “hand-pumper” fire engines. It is obvious that he possessed remarkable gifts in mechanical engineering, since by 1838 he had developed the first “piano engine” which delivered water from the front end of the trunk of the device. Another notable improvement was the “runaround” that returned water to the suction to relieve pressure on the hose. In 1841 he developed the first fire engine water pump, with valves set at an angle of 45 degrees and straight-level waterways from the inlet to the outlet.