Welcome to the Lehigh Valley Landmarks with Leon podcast series, celebrating 250 years of independence. I'm your host, Rachel Leon. Since being elected in 2022 and serving as Vice President of Bethlehem City Council, I'm humbled by the opportunity to serve the diverse communities that make up our great city. But to understand where we're going, we need to understand our past. Each week, I'll share a short feature with a big story about the 250 years that made the Lehigh Valley and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, known as the Christmas City, as we explore historic landmarks.
“The fires round about Bethlehem made a frighteningly beautiful sight, but also provoked much concern since they burned all the fences.” This excerpt from December 18, 1776 is taken from the Moravian’s Single Sisters diary.
Over 250 years ago - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania had experienced notable fires between its founding and the start of the American Revolution.
The first fire occurred in November of 1741, just months after the Moravians established the settlement on the north side of Bethlehem. The second fire in the Moravian community took place in 1745 which gave way to the appointment of the first fire inspector, Brother Ronner.
In 1747 the first formal fire bucket brigade formed.
Following the creation of the first municipal waterworks in North America at the Moravian establishment, fire fighting operations became somewhat easier. No longer would men have to carry water from the Monocacy Creek and the Lehigh River uphill to the city center.
When the enlargement of the 1762 Waterworks was completed, 52 fire buckets, made of hickory wood with leather handles attached with hand-forged nails were hung in the entrance in the Gemeinhaus, currently known as the Old Chapel.
But perhaps the worst fire during the Moravian period that threatened key community buildings, happened in 1763 and started at the Linseed Oil Mill. The purchase of the Perseverance, a hand pumped fire engine from London arrived in Bethlehem just four days after the fire forcing the community to rely on the bucket brigades to fight the linseed oil mill fire.
Thirty years later after the purchase of the Perseverance, the second hand pumped fire engine, the Diligence, also arrived from London. It was larger and featured a suction hose for taking water from the town's cistern.
In 1875 the Centennial Hose Company formed and in 1876 it became the first Hose House in south Bethlehem located at 418 Polk Street. This name change would become the Protection Hose Company and relocate in 1885 to 323 E. 4th Street. Since 1987 this has been the location of the Touchstone Theatre.
In 1876 the Good Intent Fire Company, which would later become the Liberty Fire House, located at 446 Vine Street on the south side bought a hose carriage with 500 feet of oak leather hoses and two brass nozzles.
After the fire of 1884 that burned the Bethlehem Opera House and Palace Row, the city organized the Lehigh Hook and Ladder company. The Philadelphia Inquirer referred to them as the “aristocratic volunteer fireman’s association” of south Bethlehem.
Bethlehem's Central Fire Company No. 1, located at 45 East Broad Street, was organized on June 7, 1892 to build a central fire station.
The Victory Firehouse was built in the 1920s for Bethlehem Steel, and has been repurposed for modern businesses.
Both of the hand pump fire engines, the Perseverance and the Diligence are part of the Moravian Museum’s collection and are frequently on display at the Old Moravian Chapel or the Kemerer Museum.
Information for this episode was taken from the book 'Firefighting in Bethlehem, PA from 1741-1917,' written by Chris Eline, Nancy Rutman and Karen Samuels.
