Fire Mark No. 5

This fire mark was issued by United Fireman’s Insurance Company of Pennsylvania in 1860.

Fire Mark No. 4

To recap for those who didn’t visit before the snowstorm, these metal plaques are found on some of the older homes in Old Town. They are called fire marks and were issued by insurance companies in the early 1800s. If a home and all its papers were lost in a fire, these fire marks, because they are metal and would survive a conflagration, were evidence that the homeowner had purchased fire insurance.

This fire mark was issued between 1874-1899 by Associated Fireman’s Insurance Company of Baltimore and is very rare.

Winter Garden of Eternal Rest

From Jamieson Avenue this is the entrance to the Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery, one of the oldest in Alexandria. Many of the headstones here are dated in the 1800s.

The snow is now gone, so back we go to the firemark series starting tomorrow.

You’ll Catch Your Death of Cold

No snow yesterday. Instead we had sunshine. Only a few patches of snow remain, but I have one more snow picture to share for tomorrow.

In the Dead of Winter

It’s getting colder, and more snow is predicted for the weekend. So I think I’ll continue with the snow theme awhile longer.

This scene I first showed you last October. Recently an Alexandria poet happened to visit the October photo and left a very nice poem in the comments.

For me there is something compelling about this trio of headstones surrounded by the iron fence. I can’t quite articulate what it is, but I’m sure with every change of season I’ll revisit this site and take another picture.