Lillie Hitchcock Coit
Encyclopedia
Lillie Hitchcock Coit (August 23, 1843 in West Point
– July 22, 1929 in San Francisco) was a well-known volunteer firefighter
and the benefactor for the construction of the Coit Tower
in San Francisco.
In 1851, she moved to California from West Point with her parents, Charles, an Army doctor, and Martha Hitchcock.
'Firebelle Lil' Coit was one of the more eccentric characters in the history of North Beach and Telegraph Hill
, smoking cigar
s and wearing trousers
long before it was socially acceptable for women to do so. She was an avid gambler and often dressed like a man in order to gamble in the males-only establishments that dotted North Beach
. Coit was reputed to have shaved her head so her wigs would fit better.
Lillie had a special relationship with the city's firefighters. She had from very early days of her life been fascinated and enamored of the red shirted and helmeted fire fighters. At the age of fifteen she witnessed the Knickerbocker Engine Co. No. 5 in response to a fire call up on Telegraph Hill when they were shorthanded; she threw her school books to the ground and pitched in to help, calling out to other bystanders to help get the engine up the hill to the fire, to get the first water onto the blaze. After that Lillie became the Engine Co. mascot and could barely be constrained by her parents from jumping into action at the sound of every fire bell. After this she was frequently riding with the Knickerbocker Engine Co. 5, especially so in street parades and celebrations in which the Engine Co. participated. Through her youth and adulthood Lillie was recognized as an honorary firefighter.
Coit Tower
is built on the site of the first west coast telegraph, a semaphore line completed in 1849.
Coit commissioned another neighborhood landmark, a statue of three firefighters at the northwest corner of Washington Square Park.
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
– July 22, 1929 in San Francisco) was a well-known volunteer firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
and the benefactor for the construction of the Coit Tower
Coit Tower
Coit Tower is a tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, was built in 1933 at the request of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city of San Francisco; Coit bequeathed one-third of her estate to the city "to be expended in an...
in San Francisco.
In 1851, she moved to California from West Point with her parents, Charles, an Army doctor, and Martha Hitchcock.
'Firebelle Lil' Coit was one of the more eccentric characters in the history of North Beach and Telegraph Hill
Telegraph Hill, San Francisco
Telegraph Hill refers to a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It is one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills."-Location:...
, smoking cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s and wearing trousers
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
long before it was socially acceptable for women to do so. She was an avid gambler and often dressed like a man in order to gamble in the males-only establishments that dotted North Beach
North Beach, San Francisco, California
North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Russian Hill. The neighborhood is San Francisco's Little Italy, and has historically been home to a large Italian American population. It still holds many Italian restaurants today, though...
. Coit was reputed to have shaved her head so her wigs would fit better.
Lillie had a special relationship with the city's firefighters. She had from very early days of her life been fascinated and enamored of the red shirted and helmeted fire fighters. At the age of fifteen she witnessed the Knickerbocker Engine Co. No. 5 in response to a fire call up on Telegraph Hill when they were shorthanded; she threw her school books to the ground and pitched in to help, calling out to other bystanders to help get the engine up the hill to the fire, to get the first water onto the blaze. After that Lillie became the Engine Co. mascot and could barely be constrained by her parents from jumping into action at the sound of every fire bell. After this she was frequently riding with the Knickerbocker Engine Co. 5, especially so in street parades and celebrations in which the Engine Co. participated. Through her youth and adulthood Lillie was recognized as an honorary firefighter.
Coit Tower
Coit Tower
Coit Tower is a tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, was built in 1933 at the request of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city of San Francisco; Coit bequeathed one-third of her estate to the city "to be expended in an...
is built on the site of the first west coast telegraph, a semaphore line completed in 1849.
Coit commissioned another neighborhood landmark, a statue of three firefighters at the northwest corner of Washington Square Park.
External links
- 1900 Biography and Photo and 1939 Biography, at the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.