P. F. Eisenbrown of Reading, PA—and the Twin Firemen’s Statue that Connects Reading to Manila

P. F. Eisenbrown & Sons traces its roots to the Eagle Marble & Granite Works in Reading’s 300 block of North Sixth Street, founded in 1873 by Penrose Frederick (“P. F.”) Eisenbrown (1831–1898), the grandson of a German immigrant. Trained in wood-carving by his maternal grandfather and known locally as a poet and devout Christian, Eisenbrown built a shop whose workmanship earned a statewide—and soon national—reputation. By the late 19th century the firm employed roughly forty craftworkers, including sculptors and designers, and produced not only cemetery monuments but also mantels, urns, vases, and architectural stone. The company incorporated the following year (1874).

From the Sixth Street base, Eisenbrown’s name spread through high-profile commissions—among them the soldiers’ monument in Reading’s Charles Evans Cemetery and multiple monuments erected on the Gettysburg Battlefield—work that introduced the Eagle Marble & Granite Works to a broad clientele across the East. For example, the National Park Service and Gettysburg inventories list P. F. Eisenbrown & Sons as fabricator or contractor for several regimental monuments, including the 81st, 83rd, and 84th Pennsylvania Infantry memorials and the Gregg Cavalry Shaft (1884), underscoring the firm’s specialized Civil War commemorative expertise.

P. F. Eisenbrown’s stonework also supported civic monuments in Reading’s City Park beyond the firemen’s memorial. The Frederick Lauer Monument (1885) credits P. F. Eisenbrown, Sons & Company with the monument’s stonework, reflecting how frequently the firm partnered with outside sculptors and foundries on large public works.

Frederick Lauer Monument

Growth, family stewardship, and modernization

Penrose and his wife Sarah (née Smith) raised eight sons and four daughters; five sons and two sons-in-law worked in the business, helping it expand. As orders grew, the firm added a Steam Polishing Works at Buttonwood & Reed Streets, and in 1932 it consolidated with John D. Eisenbrown (545 Penn Ave., West Reading). P. F. Eisenbrown II became president, with William P. as secretary/treasurer. The firm later dropped the original “Eagle” branding (1957). A sales office at 6th & Elm eventually moved to 2611 Centre Avenue in 1965; commercial sandblasting followed in 1967 under P. F. Eisenbrown III.

A devastating 1968 fire destroyed the 200′×50′ main shop—likely ignited by a smoldering welder’s spark. Operations shifted to a former stable building; remarkably, the air compressor salvaged from the blaze stayed in service until 1990. The family stewarded the company through its centennial in 1975, after which P. Frederick Eisenbrown III transferred ownership to Ludwig Enterprises, Inc. (Lamar B. Ludwig, president). In 1994 the business added laser engraving and awards, moving the company beyond monuments alone while maintaining traditional memorial work.

Today the Eisenbrown name still anchors Reading’s memorial landscape, with the firm emphasizing custom granite and bronze memorials, mausoleums, inscriptions, and related services—a continuous link to a craft practiced locally since the 1870s.

The Reading Volunteer Firemen’s Memorial (1901)

At the head of Penn Street at 11th Street in City Park, Reading dedicated the Volunteer Firemen’s Memorial on Labor Day, September 2, 1901. The memorial was designed by George F. Eisenbrown (of the Eisenbrown family firm), whose drawings won the competition after the city’s 12 volunteer company presidents requested a heavier, more monumental design. Contemporary descriptions praised the work’s originality and symbolism.

Design & symbolism (from the 1901 specifications):

• Overall height about 25 feet.
• Base tiers carry the names and institution dates of Reading’s 12 volunteer companies.
• The die features a bronze tablet of two horses drawing a pumper at full speed—an image of urgency and service.
• The cap shows, in bold relief, crossed hook-and-ladder, crossed trumpets, crossed axes, and a coiled hose (indicative of chemical engine service).
• A column encircled by a fire hose rises to a 7-foot statue of a uniformed 19th-century fireman holding a branch pipe.
• The face inscription reads “Volunteer Firemen”, with additional inscriptions honoring both the companies and city leadership involved.

The “Twin” in Manila (1912)

Less well known is the fireman statue’s twin—also made in Reading—that stands in the Manila North Cemetery in the Philippines. In 1912, the Firemen’s Relief Association (Manila) purchased a companion figure cast/fabricated in Reading and set it within a distinctive plot bounded by fire hydrants. The Manila siting mirrors Reading’s tribute in purpose and iconography, linking the two memorials across half the globe.

Firemen’s Memorial — Reading, Pennsylvania (left) and Manila, Philippines (right)

Title: The Monument to the Fallen Firefighters
Caption: The monument after its unveiling, at the moment when the teachers’ choir was singing its first number in the program, accompanied by the Constabulary band. Governor Forbes delivered his speech.

Why these two statues matter

Craft lineage. The twin statues showcase the export of Reading craftsmanship. Eisenbrown’s shop could design, sculpt, and finish a major monument to a professional standard that traveled well beyond Berks County.

Civic identity. In Reading, the memorial sits among dozens of City Park monuments, a landscape to which Eisenbrown repeatedly contributed (including work on the McKinley monument and others).

Trans-Pacific echo. Manila’s companion figure reveals how a specific American commemorative idiom—volunteer fire service heroism—was adopted in the Philippines in the 1910s, a moment when Manila’s cemeteries were accumulating notable civic and veterans’ memorials.

Selected Eisenbrown highlights beyond the firemen’s memorial

• Gettysburg Battlefield: Fabrication/contracting credited to P. F. Eisenbrown & Sons on multiple Pennsylvania regimental monuments and the Gregg Cavalry Shaft (1884).
• Frederick Lauer Monument (1885), Reading City Park: Stonework executed by P. F. Eisenbrown, Sons & Co. (bronze by Bureau Bros.; design by George F. Stephens).
• Williamsport Soldiers & Sailors Monument (selection 1890): The association accepted the design from Eagle Marble & Granite Works, P. F. Eisenbrown, Sons & Co., demonstrating the firm’s regional reach.

A concise timeline

• 1873–74: Eagle Marble & Granite Works founded (1873); firm incorporated (1874).
• 1880s–1890s: Major Civil War memorial work (Gettysburg; regional soldiers’ monuments).
• 1901: Reading Volunteer Firemen’s Memorial designed by George F. Eisenbrown and dedicated Sept. 2.
• 1905: McKinley Monument (stonework by Eisenbrown) dedicated in City Park.
• 1912: Manila North Cemetery installs the twin fireman statue purchased by the Firemen’s Relief Association.
• 1932: Consolidation with John D. Eisenbrown; leadership by P. F. II and William P.
• 1965–68: Move to Centre Ave. sales office; added sandblasting (1967); main-shop fire and relocation (1968).
• 1975: Ownership transfer to Ludwig Enterprises (post-centennial); laser engraving added (1994).

Lasting legacy

From a small Reading workshop to monuments seen by millions each year, P. F. Eisenbrown helped define the look and feel of civic memory in Berks County and beyond. The Reading firemen’s memorial and its Manila twin distill the firm’s strengths—clean design, fluent symbolism, and durable craft—into a cross-cultural pair of tributes to the dangerous, altruistic work of firefighters.