October 2005 - State Firemen's & Fire Marshals'

History1876 Dedication of the MonumentTheFiremen’s MonumentAustin: During the construction of the present Capitol, onMarch 28, 1883, Governor John Ireland approved an actpassed by the legislature “to permit the State Firemen’sAssociation to erect a monument within the Capitol grounds.”The law required the monument to cost at least $5,000 and“that the names of only those firemen who have lost theirlives in discharge of their duty as firemen shall have theirnames engraved on said monument.”The Firemen’s Association did not erect the monument atthe time, probably because of the construction of the Capitol,and in February 1895 the legislature amended the 1883 act toprovide for the selection of a site for the monument. Jaeggli& Martin of Brenham contracted to build the monument andFrank Teich of San Antonio became the subcontractor for theproject. Teich cut the gray granite from quarry near Llano inLlano County, and polished the huge granite blocks in hisworkshop in San Antonio. By May 1896, work had begun toerect the monument on the Capitol grounds. By late June,the monument was nearly completed, and the Firemen’sAssociation was planning a dedication ceremony. Aftercompletion of the monument on June 30, it was “veiled” insheeting and unveiled on the afternoon of July 7, 1896during a statewide meeting of the Firemen’s Associationin Austin.In place of the bronze statue of a fireman holding a babyon the monument today, the Firemen’s Monument originallyhad a tall obelisk (an upright four-sided usuallymonolithic pillar that gradually tapers as it raises andterminates in a pyramid) topped by a granite statue of afiremen holding a large fire hose. The obelisk and originalgranite statue were replaced by the bronze statue. Themonument was rededicated in May 1905 at another statewidemeeting of the Firemen’s Association in Austin. On the baseof the sculpture is stamped “MFD by W.H. Mullins, Salem,The Firemen’s Monument as it stands todayOhio, J. Segesman, Sculptor.” According to newspaperarticles from the Austin Daily Statesman, dated July 7, 1896,“the firemen will with much pomp and glory unveil themonument in the Capitol ground which has been constructedunder the personal supervision of the firemen’s committee.These ceremonies will be most imposing in everyparticular, and a chorus of 600 voices accompanied by a brassband and under the leadership of Professor Besserer willrender some appropriate music. 106 fire companies werepresent.” In another article dated July 8, 1896: “The firemen’smonument, which was unveiled and presented to thefiremen yesterday, in conception, material and design iscertainly an admirable work of art. It is of gray granite, 50feet 2 inches in height, and stands on a pedestal composed offour bases, the first base being 12 feet square, the second 9feet square, the third 7x6, and fourth base 6x6, the four basescontinued on next pageOCTOBER 2005 TEXAS FIREMEN 9