BET: Site of Washington's First Black Fire Company to Be Honored
Site of Washington's First Black Fire Company to Be Honored
Author: Britt Middleton
Cultural Tourism D.C. will honor a site of Fire Engine Company No. 4, Engine 4, the first all-Black firehouse in Washington, D.C.
The Washington Post writes:
On Aug. 23 Cultural Tourism D.C. will unveil a plaque at 931 R St. N.W., a site of Fire Engine Company No. 4. Engine 4 was organized as the first all-Black company about 1918. Its first firehouse was in the Southwest. In 1940 Engine 4 was moved to the R Street location, a firehouse that was built in 1885. The D.C. Fire Department was desegregated in 1960 and Engine 4 moved to Sherman Avenue N.W., now named for Burton W. Johnson, the city’s first African-American fire chief.
The plaque commemorates the hundredth marker on what is called the African-American Heritage Trail.
In 2006 Cultural Tourism D.C. first began the landmarking project that highlights notable places in local African-American history.
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This tour delivers the goods. Being raised just outside of washington d.c. (Bethesda), I've gone on innumerable DC sightseeing tours in my lifetime. Every time a family friend or relative visited from out of town meant another trip down to the Mall, another sightseeing tour. Monument tours, ghost tours, "Duck" tours, you name it I've done it. But out of all the DC tours I've been on this was one of the best. I went last weekend with my nieces and nephews on the Capitol Hill tour, which lasted a little over two hours. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable of the historic sites and presented the information in a fun and lively manner. His enthusiam for the subject was infectious. He had my nieces and nephews in rapt atttention from start to finish. Highly recommend.