Historical society displays
firefighting memorabilia

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Bells, horns, hats, badges, buckets, toys, and photos — the Historical Society of Frankford has a vast collection of fire-fighting memorabilia, including 30 volumes of fire company records that date back more than 200 years ago.
The collection will be on display to the public during an open house at HSF headquarters, 1507 Orthodox St., from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7 and at a 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9 program featuring a slide presentation of The Horse-drawn Era of the Philadelphia Bureau of Fire by fire photographer/historian Jack Wright.
The presentation will look at past Philadelphia fires from both a historical and an educational perspective.
Five fire companies had formed in Frankford as early as 1793. They encompassed Frankford Fire Co. records from 1793-1803; Frankford Fire Co. No. 1/Washington Fire Co. records, 1803-1873; Frankford Fire Co. No. 2/Decatur Fire Co. records, 1803-1875; Franklin Fire Co. records, 1849-1874; Excelsior Hook and Ladder Co. records, 1853-1871; and Philadelphia Fire Department records of 1914 and during 1923-1925.
Many of the volumes include membership logs containing the familiar names of early Frankford residents, including Joseph P. Deal, Jeremy Battersby and Franklin Townsend.
One such individual proposed for membership was John Schofield, who in 1865 listed his occupation as a photographer. Many of Schofield's photographs can be viewed in the exhibit.
Among HSF's fire fighting artifacts are two fire horns, which firefighters used before radios were used to tell each other where to go and what to do. One is intricately detailed with the picture of a ship and a burning building among its engravings.
Another prized piece of the collection is a silver hose carriage bell, from the Franklin Hose Company that operated at Penn and Unity streets.
According to HSF president, Debbie Klak, the bell was cast from melted silver coins collected by the company's firefighters, their families and their friends. The loud bell positioned on top of the fire apparatus would sway and ring every time it drove over cobblestone.
The cobblestones in Frankford may be gone but you can still check out three early Frankford firehouses. Three still stand — one in the 4500 block of Frankford Ave., the PAL building, at 4253 Frankford Ave., and on Church Street between Paul Street and Frankford Avenue.
For more information, visit www.historicalsocietyoffrankford.org
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com