Description

Organized in 1888 or 1889 and incorporated in 1891, the North Carolina Volunteer Firemen's Association supported the interests of African American volunteer firefighters throughout the state and served as a mutual aid society for members. It later changed its name to the North Carolina Colored Volunteer Fireman's Association. The association was the African American counterpart of the North Carolina State Firemen's Association, an organization for white firefighters chartered in 1888. The North Carolina Volunteer Firemen's Association's proceedings contain minutes of its annual sessions, committee and disbursement reports, lists of officers, rosters of African American fire companies in North Carolina, resolutions and by-laws, and the association's constitution. Some issues include lists of competitors in races and other competitions held during the association's annual meetings, rules and regulations for competitions, and membership rolls of companies marching in the association's parades. A portrait photograph of the association's president, John S. Plummer, appears on the reverse of the title page of each issue.