Mattapoisett's antique fire alarm boxes to be sold on eBay

Own a piece of Mattapoisett history! In a few weeks the Mattapoisett Fire Department will begin auctioning off 35 antique Gamewell fire alarm boxes.

The Gamewell brand was synonymous with emergency alert systems for more than a hundred years.

Like many towns throughout America, Mattapoisett’s bright red boxes stood on poles and the exterior of buildings for decades before pay phones or cell phones were available.

Levers inside the boxes triggered an alarm that communicated its location to the fire station through a telegraph system.

“It was a little time consuming,” said Fire Chief Andrew Murray. “Now everything is digital, and it comes across on a computer screen. It’s a little more modern.”

Murray said the department removed the boxes six years ago, although some inside buildings were retrofitted to communicate with the updated system.

New regulations have allowed the department to sell the boxes in places such as the online bidding website eBay.

After getting approval from the Selectmen on Tuesday, May 22, Murray said he would put one box on the website and see how much it raises.

“We’ll test the waters and go from there. There’s kind of a range of condition they’re in,” he said, noting that some boxes could be 75 to 100 years old.

“Fairhaven sold theirs for $75 and sold out in two days,” said Murray.

Current eBay listings for similar boxes start around $80 and go as high as $800.

Although many residents have asked to purchase individual boxes, Murray said, legally the boxes have to go to the highest bidder.

But whether or not eBay is a success, Murray said, “I’m pretty much open for whatever returns the most money back to the town.”