Members of the Chemical Engine Co. stand and kneel before a brick building with two tall, arched vehicle doorways. They wear suits, overcoats, and an assortment of hats; several display badges or lapel pins. A dog lies beside the kneeling men at the right. The cross-braced doors of one bay are closed, while the other opens into a dark interior.
A fringed company banner hangs above the group, its lettering reading “CHEMICAL / ENGINE CO. / FREMONT / NEB.” around an illustration of wheeled firefighting apparatus. The banner establishes the company and city independently of the reverse annotation. Its faint upper inscription is not fully legible. The building appears to be a firehouse, but neither its formal name nor its street address is given.
The divided postcard back carries the imprint of Fremont Foto Card Co., Fremont. It is unused for correspondence or mailing, with pencil annotations reading “Fremont, Neb.” and “8636,” together with a separate indistinct code. No photographer is individually credited, and neither the sitters nor the date of the photograph are identified.
- Title on card
- Fremont, Neb. (inscribed)
- Medium
- RPPC
- Subject
- Nebraska, Occupational, Outdoor Scene
- Dimensions
- 5.46 × 3.49 in (138.7 × 88.7 mm)
- Condition
- Small losses to the photographic surface along the edges, chiefly at the bottom, with surface scuffing visible in the darker areas. Otherwise sound, with a clean reverse.
- Catalogue no.
- MRPPC3475
Catalogue details
Location
Fremont, Nebraska · Fremont, Nebraska, United States
Photographed subject · Locality (town) · 93% confidence
The supplied front reading explicitly identifies “CHEMICAL / ENGINE CO. / FREMONT / NEB.” This supports Fremont at city precision independently of the publisher’s address or reverse annotation. Period historical evidence confirms chemical firefighting apparatus in Fremont: Andreas’ History records the Red Jacket Engine Company and its Champion chemical engine, but does not establish that these are the pictured members. ([usgennet.org](https://usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/andreas/dodge/dodge-p5.html)) A relevant independent photograph catalogue record is Keene Memorial Library’s “Fremont City Hall,” dated 1912–1915, describing brick construction and arched wooden fire-equipment doors at Fourth and F (Park) streets. The municipal fire-department history also places the former city hall/fire station at Fourth Street and Park Avenue. These make that building a plausible candidate, not a verified match to this group portrait. ([nebraskamemories.org](https://www.nebraskamemories.org/c
Source: Andreas’ History of the State of Nebraska — Dodge County, Part 5: Fremont Fire Department
