Volunteer Firemen's Monument, (sculpture).

Volunteer Firemen's Monument, (sculpture).

Teich, Frank, 1856-1939, designer.

Segesman, John G., sculptor.

Jeageli & Martin, contractor.

W. H. Mullins Company, founder.

Volunteer Firemen's Monument, (sculpture).

Volunteer Fireman, (sculpture).

Volunteer Firemen Monument, (sculpture).

Original 1896. Dedicated July 7, 1896. Replacement statue: 1905. Dedicated May 1905.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 24 ft. 8 in.; Base: approx. 25 ft. 6in. x 12 ft. x 12 ft.

(On bronze sculpture:) MANUFACTURED BY/W.H. MULLINS/SALEM/OHIO/J. SEGESMAN SCULPTOR. (On rear of granite base, the original contractor's mark:) JEAGELI AND MARTIN/CONTRACTORS BRENHAM/TEX. (On north side of monument, names of those who served on monument committee:) PITT S. TURNER/O.C. CONNERA/A. ZILLER/WM. H. NANCE MONUMENT COMMITTEE (On four stepped base:) VOLUNTEER FIREMAN (On lower tier of base:) ERECTED BY/THE STATE FIREMAN'S ASS'N OF TEXAS (All four sides of the monument bear lists of names, some associated with particular Texas fire disasters) (On proper left of base's front:) BUILT BY/F. TEICH/SAN ANTONIO signed Founder's mark appears.

A fireman stands holding a night shirt clad child on the crook of his proper left arm, the frame for a lantern (now missing) in his proper right arm. The fireman is dressed in uniform with peaked helmet, long coat and boots. The child points in a southeastern direction with his proper right arm. The bronze sculpture is mounted atop a large base of gray granite. The stepped base is topped by a cornice construction decorated with a hose carriage, a fire engine, a hook and ladder, and crossed trumpets.

Figure group -- Male & Child

Occupation -- Service -- Fireman

Outdoor Sculpture -- Texas -- Austin

Administered by Texas State Preservation Board, 201 East 14th Street, Room 503, Austin, Texas 78701

Located Texas State Capitol, 11th Street & North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas

The original sculpture designed for the memorial by Frank Teich was created in 1896 and made of gray granite. It was erected by the State Firemen's Association and depicted a fireman holding a hose. Due to structural problems and public disapproval, the sculpture was replaced in 1905 with this bronze piece designed by John G. Segesman and cast by W. H. Mullins Company. The base is the original base from 1896.

The monument is dedicated to Texas firemen who have died in the line of duty between 1877 and 1932. IAS files contain related excerpts from Bette Redman Reichman, ed., "Sculpture in Austin," (Austin, TX: Univ. of Texas at Austin, College of Fine Arts, Office of the Dean, 1989), pg. 8; Patricia D. Hendricks and Becky Duval Reese, "A Century of Sculpture in Texas 1889-1989," (Austin, TX: Univ. of Texas Press, 1989), pg. 19-22; and "Texas Capitol Guide," Texas Dept. of Transportation, Austin, TX. IAS files also contain transcription of full text on base.

For further reading see: Austin Daily Statesman, July 8, 1896, pg. 6; and "Fireman's Monument at Texas Capitol Grounds," Clearinghouse Update (Texas State Senate), July 15, 1992.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Texas, Austin survey, 1993.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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