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Primary
Source of the Month
"John Broadbent, (late of King-street, Westminster) now of Piccadilly, Engine-Maker . . . ," London, England, 1749. From the collections of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
CONTENTS
"Fire and Firefighting in Colonial America"
Primary
Source of the Month
Teaching
Strategy
Colonial Williamsburg Teaching Resources
Teaching News
Quotation of the Month
The
next
Electronic Field Trip is
The Will of the People
October 16, 2008
2008–2009 Teaching
Resources Catalog
2008–2009 Electronic Field
Trip Scholarships
Games,
activities, and resources about life
in colonial America
|
TOP STORIES
Fire and Firefighting in Colonial America
Fire was a very real, ever-present threat to colonial communities. Every uncontrolled fire endangered lives and property. Residents needed to work together to prevent fires from breaking out and to extinguish those that did. As the eighteenth century progressed, colonists took advantage of technological advances and new equipment to dramatically improve their firefighting capabilities.
Learn
More
John Broadbent Broadside
This mid-eighteenth-century broadside, or one-page advertisement, for a fire engine manufactured by John Broadbent describes the benefits of using the device for fighting fires as well as for some non-fire-related purposes.
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More
18th-Century Firefighting
Firefighting was a major concern in colonial America and towns and cities did all they could to minimize its threat. Residents volunteered for fire duty and conducted night patrols to catch fires in their early stages. Eventually, fire companies formed in towns across the colonies to train personnel and manage equipment for fighting fires.In this lesson, students study eighteenth-century firefighting methods. Then, working in "firefighting teams," they extinguish a "structural fire" by answering a series of challenge questions.
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Colonial
Williamsburg Teaching Resources for Your
Classroom
Colonial
Williamsburg offers a variety of quality
instructional materials dealing with 18th-century
life, including:
- Earning a Living as a Tradesperson in Colonial America (lesson unit)
- The Eye of the Beholder: Looking at Primary Sources (lesson unit)
Learn
More
Teaching
News
Jefferson's Blog
Can the ideals that guided the founding fathers stand up to modern scrutiny? The new "Jefferson's Blog" on Colonial Williamsburg's Web site attempts to find out. Launched on June 30th, the blog features a new Thomas Jefferson quotation each week. Join the debate and share your thoughts on Jefferson's philosophies in today's world.
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More
Quotation
of the Month
". . .'Twas on last March, the Twentieth Day,
Boston in Part was burnt away,
The greedy Flames ascended high,
And through the Town there was a Cry
Of Men, and Women too likewise,
Wringing their Hands with weeping Eyes.
And some were almost in a Swoon,
To see their Houses burning down:
Most sad and awful was the Night,
When round about them shin’d the Light.
"O! FIRE! FIRE!" was the Cry,
Before it did some Thousands fly
Great Desolation now there lies! . . .
"
—Joseph Fisk, A few Lines on the Happy Reduction
of Canada: as also, the great fire in Boston . . .
(Boston, Massachusetts, 1761), pp. 5–6. |
Volume
7, Issue 1 
Historic Triangle
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