Video: Benjamin Franklin's Bucket Brigade
An exceptional early manuscript connected with Benjamin Franklin and the establishment of organized firefighting in colonial Philadelphia.
Headed “A List of the Names of the Union Fire Company, viz.,” the document records the 27 men associated with the celebrated Union Fire Company, founded in Philadelphia on December 7, 1736, with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin. Frequently called “Franklin’s Bucket Brigade,” the organization is recognized as Philadelphia’s first volunteer fire company and an important milestone in the development of civic fire protection in America.
The manuscript lists “Benj: Franklin” together with many of colonial Philadelphia’s leading merchants, craftsmen, public officials, and civic figures. Among them are silversmith Philip Syng Jr.; future mayor Samuel Powel; merchant and mayor Edward Shippen; Charles Willing; William Plumsted; Joseph Paschall; Samuel Coates; John Dillwyn; and Thomas Lawrence.
The names correspond closely and in essentially the same order to the known signers of the Union Fire Company’s articles, completed on May 30, 1737. Small manuscript marks placed beside individual names appear to represent an internal membership or administrative notation.
Written in a single early hand on laid paper, the document exhibits horizontal folds, light toning, minor edge irregularities and expected age wear. The writing remains dark and readily legible. Benjamin Franklin’s name is recorded within the body of the manuscript; it is not represented as Franklin’s autograph.
A historically significant survival from the formative years of colonial Philadelphia, directly connecting Benjamin Franklin with one of his most enduring civic innovations.