Call Number:

16

Repository:

Historical Society of Frankford

Extent:

4.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1793-1925 (inclusive)

Creator:

Historical Society of Frankford.

Abstract:

There were five volunteer fire companies in the Frankford area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the late eighteenth through late nineteenth century, the first being Frankford Fire Company, organized in 1793. Frankford Fire Company would later be reorganized into two companies in 1803, and other volunteer fire companies were established in the 1850s. In 1870, all of the volunteer fire companies in Frankford were disbanded when the city-wide Philadelphia Fire Company was established. The Historical Society of Frankford fire company records collection, 1793-1925, consists of twenty-eight volumes of meeting minutes, financial records, and membership records of the five volunteer fire companies that were established in the Frankford area from 1793 through 1853.

There were five volunteer fire companies in the Frankford area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the late eighteenth through late nineteenth century. Frankford Fire Company, organized in 1793, was the first fire company to be established in the area. In 1803, Frankford Fire Company reorganized into two companies: Frankford Fire Company No. 1, which was renamed Washington Fire Company, and Frankford Fire Company No. 2, which was later renamed Decatur Fire Company. Franklin Fire company was established in 1849 and the Excelsior Hook and Ladder Company was established in 1853.

All of the companies began to disband when the city-wide Philadelphia Fire Company was established in 1870. Decatur Fire Company was absorbed into the city-wide Philadelphia Fire Company and, as of 2015, exists as Philadelphia's Engine No. 7. Washington Fire Company was also absorbed into the city and became Philadelphia's Engine No. 14, which still operates as of 2015.

Bibliography:

Dixon, William B. The Pamphlet of the Historical Society of Frankford for 1911. Philadelphia, PA: 1911.

Historical Society of Frankford. "The First Fire-Engine Company, Part 1." In Papers Read before the Society. Frankford, Philadelphia, PA: 1912.

The fire company records in the Library Collection of the Historical Society of Frankford consists of twenty-eight volumes of meeting minutes, financial records, and membership records of the five volunteer fire companies that were established in the Frankford area from 1793 through 1853. The companies were in operation until the early 1870s, when they began to disband following the establishment of the city-wide Philadelphia fire department in 1870.

The records contain information on the administrative aspects of the companies' operations - proceedings of meetings, finances, upkeep of equipment and buildings, and membership matters. There is little information in the records on the fires that occurred or on how fires were fought. There is, however, much information on local residents and on how the companies were structured and how they operated. A few of the volumes have name indexes.

In addition to the volunteer company records, there are two volumes of the engine company records of the Philadelphia Fire Department, 1914 and 1923-1925. There are daily log books that include minute by minute notes on the activities and operations of the two engine companies.

The records were cataloged by the Historical Society of Frankford sometime in the early to mid twentieth century. They were included in a group of records entitled "Books of Record" in which each volume was given a "Book" number (B-1, B-2, etc.). In 2006, the volumes were reorganized by HSF Intern Latanya Jenkins into record groups and series according to archival arrangement principles and this finding aid was prepared to facilitate their use.