{"nrhp_refnum":"04000838","name":"Vigilant Fire Company Firemen's Monument","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Union Cemetery W side of PA 873, approx. 1/3 mil S of Slatington","address_restricted":false,"city":"Washington Township","county":"Lehigh County","state":"PA","lat":40.73973667900003,"lon":-75.61312699699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 16-foot granite monument with a 7-foot sculpted fireman statue, located in Union Cemetery one half mile south of Slatington in Washington Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It was erected in 1909 by the Vigilant Fire Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the monument is one of a small group of surviving fireman statues from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and that it is the only sculpted example of its type from that period, with the others being cast metal. It also argues the monument is significant as a commemorative property honoring deceased firemen and providing burial for firemen with hardship or no family.","narrative":"Union Cemetery, just south of Slatington, Pennsylvania, holds a 16-foot granite monument completed in 1909 for the Vigilant Fire Company. Local stonemason Frank A. Scheirer carved it from Barre granite over about four months, and it was dedicated on September 16, 1909 before a crowd of more than 1,500. A seven-foot fireman with a handlebar moustache, pointed hat and heavy fire coat stands on a three-tiered base, holding a young child with both arms as he steps forward. The monument was intended to honor deceased firemen and to provide burial plots for members of Pennsylvania fire departments who had financial hardship or no family. Three firemen were buried in the plot in the 1940s. Its place in the region's fire history rests on its design: the nomination treats it as one of a small group of surviving fireman statues from this era, and the only sculpted one of them, with the others cast in metal.","period_of_significance":"1909","architect_builder":"Scheirer, Frank A. (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The granite is described as in excellent condition, with only minor pitting and discoloration from acid rain and weather; the statue and base are unchanged since 1909.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.391336-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/04000838.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000838/323d92ad8b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000838/323d92ad8b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vigilant_Fire_Company_Firemen%27s_Monument_01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vigilant_Fire_Company_Firemen%27s_Monument_01.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78002439","name":"Lehigh Canal","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/lehigh-canal-78002439/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998550","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigilant_Fire_Company_Firemen%27s_Monument","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7928913"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/vigilant-fire-company-firemens-monument-04000838/"}