Corinth-Shiloh Volunteer Fire Department was incorporated in 1963 as a 501c3 Non-Profit organization. At that time Oconee County Rural Fire was in its infancy. Corinth-Shiloh, designated Station 3, was the third station to be started in the Rural Fire System. All of the municipalities already had their own fire departments; some, like Walhalla, dating back as far as 1871.

When the Rural Fire System began, an understanding or a "gentlemen's agreement" existed between the Oconee County Administration and the communities that wanted fire protection. The county would provide the truck and equipment and the community had to provide the volunteers, a suitable building to house the apparatus, and the money to keep the fire departments going.

The county has provided Corinth-Shiloh Volunteer Fire Department with a total of (5) five trucks since 1963. The first was a 1963 Chevrolet C-60 with a HOWE 500 GPM pump and a 500 Gallon tank. This truck was in service into the late 1980s.

Sometime between 1963 and 1983, a surplus Crash/Fire Rescue truck was given to the department for use at the county airport. The dates on this equipment being in service are not available at this time and it is unknown where the truck came from or ended up. There are no specialty firefighting tools or equipment provided by the county for use at the county airport at this time.

In 1983, the department received a Ford F-800 with a 1,000 GPM pump and a 1,000 gallon tank. Despite being well received by the department, the new truck would not fit into the existing fire department building. With land leased from Clemson University and a building designed by students from the architecture program there, Corinth-Shiloh built a new home. Before the truck arrived, the community put up the money to build the station the department currently uses. The station has housed not only the fire department, but community events as well such as: elections, scouting groups, family reunions, holiday events, etc.

In 1990, the department realized that because of the growth that the area around Lakes Hartwell and Keowee it would be necessary for the department to purchase its own Fire Apparatus. The department raised money and purchases E-31, a 1980 Seagrave commercial cab Engine. The truck had been in service up north and was purchased used but refurbished by the department. This truck served the department well for many years, and is currently under another, station-led, refurbishing. It is on schedule to be placed into service again in the first quarter of 2006.

To be continued...