Milton Penn Collection (MS267)
Content Description
The papers in this collection cover all of the Alexandria Fire Department's business and legal transactions over a span of one hundred years. The canceled checks show the many expenditures necessary to outfit, maintain, and operate the volunteer fire companies. There are also many receipts from commercial firms who provisioned, repaired, serviced and supplied the volunteer fire companies. The Alexandria Common Council appropriated money each year to cover the entire Fire Department.
Many reports to the Common Council are included. These contain appropriations for the fire companies, fire warden appointees and resignations, construction and repair of fire houses, minutes of Fire Department meetings, the establishment of a Fire Department Board of Directors and the enactment of laws covering fire house bells and assembly at fire houses.
One report from the Fire Department, dated May 8, 1860, describes how much usable hose each fire company has on-hand and requests purchase of more hose, in linear feet. A quarterly report dated August 15, 1851 lists the number of members in each fire company: The Sun had 111; the Relief, 63; the Friendship, 76; the Star, 47; and the Hydraulion, 52.
Dates
- 1794 - 1893
Extent
.46 Cubic Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The material is arranged chronologically by type of correspondence or business-related transaction. Arrangement repeated for Box 2 added in 1995.
Accruals
Additional materials donated in 1995
Bibliography
Each household in Alexandria purchased fire insurance and was assigned a specific fire company in case of disaster. The volunteer fire companies would not assist anyone without a plaque on their domicile or business, proving they were legitimately covered with insurance from the Fire Insurance Company of Alexandria.
- Title
- Milton Penn Collection Finding Aid
- Author
- Debby Waller
- Date
- 1992
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Local History and Special Collections Branch, Alexandria Library Repository