At the core of any fire company is the apparatus used to fight fires and protect lives. This was particularly true of for the volunteer fire fighters in 19th century America. Often purchased with their own funds, their fire engines were the focus of their pride and affection, as well as their identities as fire fighters. Engine plates, often made of brass, would be prominently affixed to engines and inscribed with the company name, number, and founding date. Engine plates could pass from old engine to new, or be kept in the firehouse as a memorial to a departed apparatus.
This trapezoidal metal engine plate of the Eagle Hook and Ladder Company bears a central image of a crossed fireman’s hook and ladder behind the number “1” and is surrounded by the text “EAGLE/ORGANIZED 1838.” The plate was made for the Eagle Hook and Ladder Company in 1850, and has holes in each corner showing where it was previously attached to an engine.
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