The dedication of the Fireman’s Memorial Fountain occurred on the first anniversary of the tragic fire that had claimed the lives of Chattanooga firefighters Henry Iler and Matt Peek. Scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. on June 9, 1888 with a procession of dignitaries and members of the Chattanooga Fire Department to the location near the Hamilton County Courthouse, the ceremony officially began when Chief Whiteside advanced to the center of the platform to address the crowd of over 2,000 citizens.
“With a voice almost choked with emotion at the gratifying tribute being paid to two of his heroic men,” the Chief introduced Dr.
VanDeman, chairman of the memorial committee. The chairman recounted the events of the previous year and then, in a solemn gesture of remembrance, gifted the city with the fountain and a charge to “preserve and keep it as an emblem of this people’s love for bravery, admiration for a duty well done, and love and veneration for the men who lost their lives to save others.”
Chattanooga City Attorney C. R. Evans, representing the mayor, accepted the memorial, funded by donations from individual citizens and business and manufacturing entities during a campaign coordinated by the Chattanooga Daily Times. “The design is most fitting; the fireman know no hour of off-duty. By day and by night, in sunshine and in storm, he must be ready instantly to respond to the clanging alarm… so his figure in bronze here will stand at its post of duty in the light of day and in the darkness of night, in the heat of summer and the biting blasts of winter…in readiness to protect…” At the conclusion of Mr. Evans’ speech, Chief Whiteside’s young daughter turned the water on the fountain and, as the fountain began to flow, shouts and applause thundered across the courthouse grounds.
The featured orator for the dedication, Colonel Tomlinson Fort, allowed the crowds’ reaction to continue for several moments and then he moved to the podium and momentarily quieted the celebration. He explained that he had been asked by the Chattanooga Fire Department to speak because he was a veteran volunteer fireman who understood the duties, risks and dangers associated with the job. He paused dramatically and then opinioned that the firemen employed by Chattanooga were “intelligent and skilled” and among the poorest paid of city employees but that they loved “their calling; its dangers add zest to our efforts.” With a final nod to the crowd, Fort concluded, “We love Chattanooga. As long as this fireman fountain shall continue to run in Fireman Park, your Chattanooga Fire Department stands ready to risk life and limb to save…”
Applause again spread as the crowd dispersed to their homes, assured that, as the Times reporter observed, “Chattanooga had given a generous and hearty recognition of the valorous performance of duty… and fidelity. The dollars of the rich and the pennies of the poor are represented in the monument.”
In the one hundred and thirty-five years since the Fireman’s Fountain was dedicated, the story of its origin and its frequent up-dating with new paint and repairs have captured the public attention.
In 1903, Chattanooga Fire Department Chief McQuade requested that the fountain be painted and Mayor Alexander Chambliss added the item to his budget request. Only three years later, J. C. Forstner “forcibly” questioned Mayor William Little Frierson regarding the condition of the Fireman’s Fountain Memorial during a public meeting. Forstner, who had a store on Georgia Avenue near the fountain, declared that the memorial was a disgrace and had fallen into decay. “I have tried to get the park commission to repair it and to beautify the little triangle set apart but nothing has been done.” He reminded the mayor and the council that the water can no longer be turned on and that the fence and curbing had been removed and fertilizer had been “dumped and there it remains.” “What must a stranger think when he sees it and then find that it is a monument to the memory of two heroic firemen.” There was a “unanimous assent” to his comments by citizens attending in support.
Perhaps the most unique story associated with the Fireman’s Memorial was the relocation of several alligators from the East Lake Park and Zoo to the memorial. As the Chattanooga Times reported in 1915, the alligators had been adopted by Commissioner Betterton and Judge Fleming and were to become an attraction in their own right.
Alligators at the Fireman’s Fountain? The stories continue.
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Linda Moss Mines is the Chattanooga and Hamilton County historian