Textiles and the Triplett Sisters
BAQ: Watchman Fire Company
I’m continuing to explore the connections between Baltimore Album Quilts and the fire companies. If you haven’t read our blog recently, please check the two previous blogs for info on the Liberty and Union Fire Companies. Next, I decided to focus on the Watchman Fire Company. John and Diane Steele owners of a beautiful Baltimore Album Quilt had already done a significant amount of research on the few inscriptions the quilt contained. The couple traced the four initials/names to the same neighborhood and two lived on Montgomery Street the location of the Watchman Fire Company.
As I was attempting to locate the ladies group associated with the Fire Company, it became clear that it was not like the other two previous ladies’ organizations which were associated with the temperance movement. The Watchman Fire Company was formed later, when the Washingtonian Temperance Movement was starting to decline. Instead, this group was called Ladies of the Ninth Ward, or the Ladies of Federal Hill and all their fundraising efforts went toward the Watchman Fire Company.
We know that the ladies sewed since several newspaper articles spoke of the multiple banners they made for both the Fire Station and the local Democratic Association. Additionally, the ladies made “Useful and Fancy Articles” which were sold at their fundraising fair. The ad also stated that some of the “articles expressly for Firemen.”
It is easy to understand that the quilt blocks with a fire engine on them could be expressly for firemen. However, less obvious to today’s quilter is how some of the eagle blocks are expressly for firemen. The eagle with the flag was painted on many of the fire engines and hose carriers. Additionally, this eagle block also has the liberty cap on a stick, an image frequently painted on the fire equipment, as well as the fire horn or trumpet found at the bottom of this block. A quick search of the newspapers showed the Baltimore fire companies used the fire horn to call the volunteers and even presented ceremonial fire horns as gifts.
