Vigilant Fire Company Firemen's Monument

United States historic place


Vigilant Fire Company Firemen's Monument
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Vigilant Fire Company Firemen's Monument in June 2013
40°44′23″N 75°36′49″W / 40.73972°N 75.61361°W / 40.73972; -75.61361
Area	less than one acre
Built	1909
Built by	Scheirer, Frank A.
NRHP reference No.	04000838^[1]
Added to NRHP	August 11, 2004

Vigilant Fire Company Firemen's Monument is a historic monument located at Washington Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[1]

History

Erected in 1909 and dedicated on September 16, 1909, the Vigilant Fire Company Fireman's Monument is a 16-foot-high granite monument on a concrete base, which is situated on a plot of land chosen by the fire company for its visibility from the highway. Crafted by local stone mason Frank Scheirer at a cost of $2,200, the monument incorporates a 7-foot-tall statue of an early 20th-century fireman with a handlebar mustache, pointed fire hat, fire coat, and boots, holding a young girl in both arms.

Arthur Scranton, a member of the Vigilant Fire Company, was responsible for the erection of the monument, according to the monument's dedication plaque.^[2]

This monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[1]

Burials

Initially planned as a burial site for firemen who had faced financial hardships or were without family at their respective times of death, the place of the monument was expanded to allow for the burial of career and volunteer firemen. Three firemen who are interred here are: Harry J. Henritzy. Marcus Hessman, and Theodore Hoffman.^[2]

Gallery

Tombs of firemen
Tomb of Harry J. Henritzy (1881-1941)
Tomb of Marcus Hessman (1861-1942)
Tomb of Theodore Hoffman (1873-1947)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Robert Stettner (April 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Vigilant Fire Company Firemen's Monument" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-05.