Princeton firefighters visit portraits exhibit at Bureau County History Center, exhibit to run to July 26

City’s first fire chief among the portraits

(From left) Princeton Fire Department team members Allysen Jacobsen, Eli Van Autreve, Bureau County History Center curator Jessica Gray, Bryan Berlin and Frank Filippi. Members visited to see the portrait of Wright Seaman as well as the original book of meeting minutes for the department. Seaman was the first Fire Chief in Princeton but was killed during the Civil War’s Battle of Shiloh. (Photo provided by Lex Poppens)

March 14, 2025 at 1:17 pm CDT

The Bureau County History Center hosted members of the Princeton Fire Department on Feb. 20.

Fire Chief Scott Etheridge and fire department members visited to see the portrait of Wright Seaman as well as the original book of meeting minutes for the department. Seaman was the first fire chief in Princeton but was killed during the Civil War’s Battle of Shiloh.

The portraits exhibit opened March 1 and will run until July 26.

Princeton Fire Chief Scott Etheridge (left) and Bureau County History Center curator Jessica Gray visit to see the portrait of Wright Seaman as well as the original book of meeting minutes for the department. Seaman was the first Fire Chief in Princeton but was killed during the Civil War’s Battle of Shiloh. (Photo provided by Lex Poppens)