In early 1869 a group of young men of the village determined to form a new fire company. At that time Middletown's reservoir had been opened and running water was available for fighting fires.

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The small group proposed a new kind of fire company, a hose company. Rather than man an engine, they would pull a hose carriage to fires, connect the hose to a water source and fight the fire. For a name they suggested "Monhagen", the name of the reservoir.

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The new organization received the approval of the village and on February 5, 1869 the Monhagen Hose Company, No. 1 was formed.

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The company's motto is "Good Will to All." As many of the Monhagen members at that time were businessmen, politicians and lawyers, it was widely felt that they wouldn't know what to do at the scene of a fire. The doubters were proven wrong when the Monhagens attended their first big blaze.