This is taken from Souvenir Book, St. Paul Police Benevolent Association, 1919, a 1919 publication.

St. Paul Is Incorporated

1854 beginning of new era for Capitol City. Mayor and Council elected, Officers appointed, and the nucleus of the present police force obtained.

A. D. 1854. And when the balmy breezes of spring heralded the demise of winter and the approach of summer, the City of St. Paul reared its spires where once was the unbroken wilderness trod by Father Hennepin almost two centuries before — the birch bark canoe of the Indian had been largely supplanted by the river boats which plied from St. Louis to St. Paul, the head of navigation on the Mississippi, and the yap of the wolf was intermingled with the howl of the house dog who resented the appearance of the moon.

St. Paul was born — born in the cradle of nature at the head waters of the Mississippi; born of the virgin forest, whose beasts produced the furs that were St. Paul’s swaddling clothes. And the wisemen of the East followed the beckoning finger of the North Star State, realizing that unto them that day an opportunity had been born.

The population increased in rapid strides, and a regular form of government was established. The first Mayor was David Olmstead; Treasurer, D. Rohrer; City Marshall, Wm. R. Miller; City Justice, Orlando Simons; and Aldermen, R. C. Knox, A. C. Chamblin, R. Marvin, A. L. Larpenteur, F. Fanning, C. S. Cave, George L. Becker, Jno. R. Irvine, and J. M. Stone.

And the hardest worker of all was the City Marshall, Wm. Miller. His duty it was to attend all Council meetings, act as rental agent and general purveyor, rent out market stalls, issue licenses for dogs, shows, billiard rooms, and liquor stores, impose fines for disobedience of his mandates, collect wharfage, rent from steamboats, keep streets and sidewalks clean, destroy squatters’ shanties, select lots at the cemetery for the burial of paupers, preserve law and order, and notify owners of wandering swine to pen their property up, and upon failure to comply to round up and shoot the offending grunter.

And for these few things, with nothing to do until the next day, he received the huge salary of $400 a year — $7.69 a week — and ten per cent of all the money he collected for fines and licenses. Before assuming the office Marshall Miller had to produce bonds for $2500.

The judiciary consisted of Judge Simons and three ward justices of the peace. Pickings were poor for the justices, and they had devious ways of making both ends meet. Of one of them, a French Canadian named LeMay, an amusing incident is told. A young couple came to him to be married. He performed the ceremony, and the couple went their way rejoicing, only to return on the following day. Marital bliss had not been theirs, even on a one day honeymoon — the dove of peace was billing with a wild pigeon and had failed to notice the newlyweds. They wished their marriage annulled. No sooner said than done — for five dollars. Justice LeMay tore up the marriage certificate and called the bargain off upon receipt of the five.

The council chamber, wherein the weighty questions of the day were decided, was located in three rooms above the jewelry store of Nathan Spicer, on Third street, for which the City of St. Paul paid the owner $12 a month rent. A market house was rented for $610 per year at the corner of Seventh and Wabasha. Vital Guerin was the owner of the property, and in the second floor of this old brick building was held the first session of the municipal, or “police court,” as it was then termed.

Late in the year 1854 the city council passed a resolution ordering Marshall Miller to appoint a “city police of such numbers and at such times as in his opinion the same may be necessary for the public safety.” But there are no records of the appointment of any officers for two years.

The Mayor received $300 a year salary and the council members $3 a week for a short time, and then this order was rescinded, and there are now no records to show whether the first mayor and councilmen received pay for the balance of their terms, or completed them without remuneration.

Governor Ramsey became the second mayor of St. Paul, being elected in 1855 to succeed David Olmstead, who removed to Winona. Mayor Ramsey served one year and was succeeded by George L. Becker, who was elected April 4, 1856. At this time St. Paul was booming so fast and the population was so rough and turbulent that Marshal Miller appointed four policemen to assist him.

The four chosen were John Gabel, Nicholas Miller, M. C. Hardwig and Edward Maher. These four received $1.50 per day for each day their services were required, and their services were required pretty steadily, for St. Paul had filled up with the riffraff which always follows in the wake of the settler — the gambler, confidence man, and soldier of fortune. So rough was the element which flocked to St. Paul that late in the fall of that same year Marshal Miller was proclaimed chief of police, and given a force of three captains and nine men to preserve order.

John Gabel and Nicholas Miller dropped out, and the personnel of the force during the winter of 1856-57 was: Chief Miller, Captains Solomon Walters, Bert Miller and James Gooding, and Policemen William H. Spitzer, Smith McAuley, Joseph Fadden, William Tonika, Andrew Sanberg, Aspinwall Cornwall, M. C. Hardwig, Henry Galvin and Edward Maher. The captains received $2 per day, which was considered good pay in those days, and the salary of Judge Simons was increased to $500 a year because of the additional work entailed by the increase of population and corresponding increase in the police force.

On August 12, 1856, the council authorized the purchase of a lot at Fifth and Washington streets, and the erecting thereon of a City Hall, with a “lock-up” located in the first story. This entire investment amounted to $8,000, and bonds were issued for that sum. One “Baron Von Glahn,” a capitalist, bought the entire issue of bonds, and the building was erected. The Baron was not only a capitalist but was also a convivial bird, and it so chanced that he got his nose wet right after the completion of the new “lock-up” and he was the first tenant — a prisoner in his own jail.

During that same year the city council also provided for badges for each of the officers and the chief, the badges bearing the inscription, “St. Paul Police.” The officers were all required to display their badges in a prominent place, but the chief was excused from the display of authority.

The administration changed again on the following year, John Ball Brisbin being elected Mayor on April 4, 1857. He had moved to St. Paul in 1853, coming from New York, where he had been practicing law. He was elected city attorney shortly after his arrival in St. Paul, and later president of the territorial council, or senate. While there he prevented the removal of the seat of government of the territory to St. Peter, now known as Mendota. But for his work, St. Peter, or Mendota, would today be the capitol of Minnesota. He was so popular with the residents of St. Paul that his election to the office of Mayor was unanimous. The census of St. Paul, taken during September of 1857, showed 9,973 inhabitants.

Norman W. Kittson was the next Mayor of St. Paul, taking office in 1858. And in May of 1858 the State of Minnesota was admitted to the Union, St. Paul retaining the title of Capitol City only after a struggle. J. W. Crosby was elected by the council to “Bill” Miller’s job. as city marshal, and although Miller’s salary has been decreased from $400 to $300 a year just the year before, the council placed the salary at $1,000 a year for Crosby. It seems that just a little politics was played in St. Paul as far back as 1858, and even at that early date the sons of Erin had demonstrated their ability to connect with a job on the force. For a council committee placed a recommendation before the council that some of the coppers be fired and a few Germans hired, for the force was composed of “three Americans, six Irish and two French.” The sons of Erin remained, the council deciding that it cared naught about the nationality of the policemen, as long as they did their duty. Resolutions were adopted requiring the police to wear bands on their hats containing the words “City Police.”

Colonel D. A. Robertson was the sixth Mayor of St. Paul, taking office on May 3, 1859. He was the founder of the “Minnesota Democrat.” During his administration the police department was allowed fourteen members, and the salary of the chief was raised backward from $1,000 to $600 per year. The captains got $60 a month, policemen $40 a month, turnkey $1 per day, and the city justice’s salary was raised to $600 a year.

Colonel John S. Prince was the seventh and also tenth Mayor of St. Paul. He won his military title from his service on General Sibley’s staff. Mayor Prince served the city as its chief executive until 1863. His administration lasted through the trying days at the start of the Civil war, when salaries were reduced and five regiments left Minnesota to do their bit in keeping the honor of their country inviolate.

Three members of the police force volunteered, and marched away, even as thirty-five members of the present force volunteered for the world war and followed Old Glory to France and into Germany. And the city treasury was so depleted that it could not afford to pay salaries to the few officers who remained. For, be it known that St. Paul had been taking care of the families of all its soldiers.

Newspaper attacks upon the police department are old chestnuts — they are in the category of the minstrel show joke about not vaccinating the police force because “they couldn’t catch anything anyway.” For as early as April 8, 1862, we find Mayor Prince in his address to the City Council, mentioning the complaints of the press against the police force, and of the investigation which he had made, said investigation failing to produce grounds upon which to base the complaints. Evidently newspapers never let facts interfere with a good story, even in those days.

In the fall of 1862, the entire police force was discharged because of the lack of funds, and under Mayor Prince’s leadership a “home guard” was established. Sixty men from each ward volunteered to serve one night a month patrolling the beat. There were four wards then, and during the winter of 1862-3, St. Paul streets were policed nightly by the home guard, the sixty men pairing and each pair walking the beats one night a month. These men served without pay. The former chief of police, James Gooding, retained his position and had command of the home guard. Gooding had succeeded H. H. Western, who in turn had supplanted J. W. Crosby.

Prominent figures in the home guard organization were Wm. B. Langley, Chas. L. Wood, Wm. Leip, C. C. Lund, H. Schiffbauer, I. V. D. Heard, A. T. Chamblin, Harvey Officer, J. H. Conaway, Ferdinand Willius, D. S. Stomles, George Constans, C. H. Schurmeier, Chas. Passavant, D. A. Monfort and A. J. Chamblin. But in spite of this goodly array of home talent, a burglar entered the home of Sheriff Tullis on October 2, 1862, and made a getaway with an armful of valuables. He was never apprehended.

John Esaias Warren became Mayor in 1863. During his administration the regular force was reinstated with one chief, one captain and seven privates. Mayor Warren desired the addition of at least three more men to the force, and succeeded in securing their appointment. He also secured the passage of an ordinance prohibiting the wearing of a police badge by a citizen not authorized to wear it, and punishing violators of this law by a fine of five dollars. Michael Cummings was appointed Chief under Mayor Warren, and John O’Connor, father of the present Chief of Police of St. Paul, was appointed as a police officer. Other officers were appointed, but all except three of them were let out and special officers appointed in their places. The three retained were John O’Connor, Herman Harff and James Waters. Mayor Warren delivered a masterpiece in his farewell address to his council before he left the Mayor’s office. He spoke of the necessity of clothing police officers in a uniform, that they might be readily distinguished at a glance by those who needed their assistance. He also mentioned the advisability of creating a plainclothes squad of detectives to investigate crime, for the removal of an officer from the beat for that purpose was usually followed by the commission of several offenses on his beat by rowdies who knew of his absence. Dr. J. H. Stewart was his successor, and he was honored by being re—elected four times.

Two more chiefs of police came into being — Chiefs Cleveland, who followed Cummings, and Turnbull, who served under Dr. Stewart. The chief’s salary was again advanced to $1,000 per year. At this time the population of St. Paul was 12,976. Mayor Prince was sent back to office in 1865, and served two years. In 1866 police salaries were raised from $40 to $55 a month. At that time the Mayor’s salary was $200 per year.

Hon. George L. Otis was elected Mayor in 1867. He appointed J. P. McIlrath chief of police to succeed John Jones, who had been appointed by Prince. McIlrath held the office until 1870.

Dr. Stewart was re-elected Mayor in 1868. A new charter was granted St. Paul that year, and the city divided into five wards. Also the salaries of police officers were reduced $5 a month, and three new positions were created, those of a special detective, a city jailer and a poundmaster. John Schmidt was appointed jailer and Edwin Shields poundmaster, each receiving a salary of $60 a month.

During 1868 the House of Good Shepherd was established and was in running order in January of 1869. On December 15, 1868, the City Council passed a resolution making the House of Good Shepherd a penal institution for female defendants arrested on misdemeanor charges in the city. Thirty days was the maximum sentence, although later this was changed to ninety days. St. Paul’s population had increased to 19,000.

James T. Maxfield was the next Mayor, assuming office in 1869. During his administration a petition was gotten up, signed by over 1,000 residents, asking that disorderly houses and saloons be closed on Sunday. Quite a crusade was instituted by Mayor Maxfield against these places. The ordinances already prohibited the sale or gift of liquor on Sunday.

Police salaries were again changed under Maxfield’s administration. The chief received $1,200 a year, the captain $1,000, and the police officers $70 a month. The force consisted of the chief, captain and fourteen men, and during the year of 1869, 967 arrests were made. The council added another touch of labor to the office of police chief by passing a resolution requiring him to be present at every fire, where he must report to any member of the council who was also on the spot.

William Lee was elected Mayor in 1870, and he appointed Luther H. Eddy chief of police. The 1870 census gave St. Paul a population of 20,030. Mayor Lee was re-elected in 1871, and he caused the appointment of four more policemen to the department, one of whom was John Clark.

In 1872, Dr. Stewart was sent back to the Mayor’s office, and there he remained until 1875. On June 5, 1872, the City Council made the first appropriation for police outfits, the amount being $116.12. There is no itemized statement along with the bill, so there is no way of discovering exactly what was purchased, but it is a fair guess that the money went to purchase uniforms, caps and belts for the officers. There were eleven men added to the force that year. Also the office of police sergeant was created, with a salary of $900 a year, this being increased to $1,000 the following year. The chief was given a raise to $1,500 and the captain to $1,200. Police officers received no raise, their salary remaining at $70 a month.

In the year 1873 the police department contained a chief, captain, sergeant and twenty-five patrolmen. McIlrath was once more chief, James King was captain, and Charles Weber sergeant. The roll call sounded thusly: Officers — Galvin, Mitchell, Kenaley, Vogtli, Cayenross, Walstrum, Rouleau, Nolan, O’Keefe, Morgan, Pretris, Christof, Oelker, Lowell, Palmer, Bresett, Clark, Bremer, Murphy, Putzier, Ryan, Nugent, Nygaard and Dowlan.

In 1874, the patrolmen were constituted a board of fire wardens, their duties consisting of property inspections, both homes and business places, several times a year, to see that all inflammable rubbish was removed and the attendant fire risk diminished. This work is done today by members of the fire department. During 1874 West St. Paul was voted into the City of St. Paul, becoming the Sixth ward, increasing the population of the city to 30,000 people.

During this period in the city’s growth, St. Paul was known far and wide as a tough river town. The floatsam and jetsam of humanity — the river pirate and the gangster — made St. Paul its headquarters, and only the most venturesome of inhabitants dared to be on the streets after dark, unless in numbers.

Streets were ill lighted, and the police force was inadequate to cope with the situation. Members of the force were greatly outnumbered, and in the street brawls, which were numerous, the officers were literally taking their lives in their hands when they attempted to preserve order and make arrests.

Third Street was the principal street, and Second Street, then Bench street, was the hangout of the masses which drifted in and out of the city. There were located the groggeries, low dance halls, gambling houses and dens of all known varieties of vice. What is known as “Lower Town” at that time was but a marsh.

Vice was licensed in the form of fines regularly imposed, and this system was in vogue until the early eighties, when St. Paul began to stamp out sin. For years practically the entire expense of the female workhouse was met by fines imposed upon those who flourished through the exploitation of the social evil. So it is easy to see how the system of conducting the city brought together an element which made the patrolling of St. Paul’s streets anything but a picnic.

And the system increased the municipal expense to such a point that the city fathers were hard put to raise enough money to keep things going. One scheme hit upon was to license travelling salesmen, or “drummers,” who represented eastern firms, and who came to St. Paul to sell local merchants their supply of goods. The license fee was $10. This was so detrimental to business that it fell by the wayside.

A new city charter had been obtained, changing the date of elections to December, and in December of 1874, James T. Maxfield was elected to serve his second term as Mayor. He appointed James King chief of police to succeed McIlrath, and King remained at the post for four years. The force then boasted thirty members. A municipal court was established, and Judge Flint was the first municipal judge, with a salary of $2,500 per year. The county jail was designated as a workhouse for vagrants and drunks, and all fines in cases pertaining to the social evil were equally divided among the following: City Hospital, Magdalen Society and House of Good Shepherd.

Hon. William Dawson was Mayor from December, 1878 to 1881. He was president of the City Council previous to his election as Mayor.

All janitors of public schools were also created special policemen. Captain Weber was advanced to the position of chief, and one new man, John Newell, was appointed to the force. William Dowlan was made bailiff of the municipal court. The chief’s salary was reduced to $1,200 annually, the captain’s to $1,100, sergeant and detective to $900, and the patrolmen to $780 annually.

In 1880 salaries were raised to their former amounts. About this time the temporary workhouse established in Smith Park became unsatisfactory. Prisoners who were in for five days or so, didn’t seem to earn their keep. Plenty of large stones were provided as a nucleus for lots of small ones, and chisels and hammers abounded. But the short term prisoners had to be fed up, rested, occasionally given medicine, bathed, shaved and put into condition. By this time their term would be up and they would be already for another jag. Those who had jail sentences in default of fines would scrape together enough money to pay the fine rather than make little ones out of big ones at the rate of $1 a day, which was the amount allowed to apply on the fines. And the few rock-breakers did not produce enough rock to pave the streets with, nor enough men to spread the rock. So the Como workhouse was decided upon and became another municipal institution. F. A. Renz was the first superintendent.

Edmund Rice was the next Mayor of St. Paul, and he appointed John Clark chief of police. John Clark remained in the office of chief for several years, and excepting from 1896 to 1900, was associated with the department until 1912, when he resigned, and was appointed chief of police of Portland, Oregon. He is now living in Portland, and is the chief of detectives of that city.

In 1883, C. D. O’Brien became Mayor of St. Paul. During his administration the city purchased its first “hurry-up wagon,” or Black Maria, and fifteen new policemen were added to the force. A barn was built at the rear of the City Hall to accommodate the team and patrol wagon, which was a splendid equippage, costing the city $600 for the wagon alone. Two vehicles became necessary, one to haul in the vags and two varieties of drunks — plain and fancy, and the other to make the daily trip to the Como workhouse. John Rooney made the Como trips, and Pat Casey drove the patrol.

In 1884, fifteen more patrolmen were added, and in 1885 another fifteen and two more sergeants. John J. O’Connor, present chief of police, was appointed chief of detectives at a salary of $1,500 per year. John Clark received $2,200 as chief. John Bresett received $1,700 a year as captain, and two detectives, Thomas Kenaley anti Daniel J. O’Connor, received $1,000 each. The force had four sergeants. They were A. M. Lowell, Charles Rouleau, Dennis Murphy and William Hanft. Two officers were designated to assist the patrol drivers, and August Baer and Philip Gibbons were the chosen ones. Officer Gibbons still rides the patrol from Central Station to the Municipal Court, the patrol still being an old horse-drawn vehicle.

The following year a squad of six mounted officers was added to the department, and a patrol telegraph system was installed. Thirty-two boxes were placed at advantageous places, and in this way the officers kept in close touch with central station. E. B. Birge was appointed superintendent of the patrol system, and the first operators were E. W. Hildebrand and Henry H. Flint. Mayor Rice headed the administration while this progress was recorded, having been elected for his second term.

In February of 1887, Mayor Rice telegraphed his resignation from the office. He was in Washington at the time, and decided he would no longer act as St. Paul’s chief magistrate, so Robert Smith, president of the City Council and acting mayor in the absence of the Mayor, automatically became Mayor of St. Paul. Robert Smith had come to Minnesota in 1853 to act as private secretary to Governor Gorman.

In May the four new substations were opened and placed in charge of the following: Rondo, Captain Lowell; Margaret, Captain Hanft; Ducas, Captain Walsh, and Prior, Lieutenant Budy. The police department then had the names of 160 men on its roster.

Mayor Smith advocated and caused to be enacted into law a high license fee for saloons, and during his administration the license fee was placed at $1,000, jumping the revenue from the sale of liquor to $355,000 in 1888.

J. P. McKinley was appointed on April 4, 1889, and is still on the department. With him on the roster of today are four other men who were on, when he received his appointment — Phil Gibbons, Chief O’Connor, Mike Gebhardt and Pat Powers.

In the winter of 1889 the new City Hall and Court House was completed and the municipal court was moved from its old location to its present one. Two judges were required instead of one. The new building had been started in 1885, and it required four years to complete it.

In the fall bf 1891, Central Station was removed from the old Town Hall to the old location on Third street. During the spring of 1891 the patrolmen were all decked out with felt helmets at the city’s expense, the council appropriating $450 to cover the expense. On November 11, Chief Clark issued an order that all officers must report at once any incident where it had been necessary to use a club convincing a prisoner that the law was supreme, and the club mightier than the head.

Frederick P. Wright became Mayor in 1892, and he appointed Albert Garvin of Stillwater to succeed John Clark as chief of police, and John C. McGinn to succeed John J. O’Connor as chief of detectives. Mayor Wright retained the office until 1894. St. Paul was overrun with criminals of all types during this period, the World’s Fair at Chicago bringing crooks of international fame to the Windy City, and these crooks, on their way to the midwinter fair in California took devious routes, many of them going via St. Paul and stopping off for a few days to pick up some easy money. There were holdup men, card sharps, confidence men and a general collection of petty larceny thieves.

In 1894, Robert Smith was elected again to the office of Mayor, and he immediately re-instated Chief Clark and Chief of Detectives John J. O’Connor, and this pair instituted so vigorous a campaign against the crooks that a veritable army of them left town during 1894. Every bunco establishment in sight was closed. At the close of that year the population of St. Paul was 140,292. Local crime decreased 50 per cent under the handling of Clark and O’Connor.

During 1895, police salaries were again raised, the chief receiving $3,500, captains $1,400, lieutenants $1,200, mounted lieutenants $1,460, mounted sergeants $1,260, chief of detectives $2,000, detectives $1,200, patrolmen $900, mounted patrolmen $1,160, and matron $600. In April of 1896 salaries of patrolmen were cut to $840 again.

The year of 1896 brought about some more changes in the department. Frank B. Doran was elected mayor, and he appointed M. N. Goss chief of police and Philip W. Schweitzer chief of detectives. John Clark and John J. O’Connor opened up the J. J. O’Connor Detective Agency.

During 1896 police attention was directed toward fake auction stores; which were in reality fences for stolen goods, and swindling enterprises. These were stamped out and pawn chops were licensed and placed under police surveillance, so that stolen goods could be recovered as soon as they appeared at a pawn shop. The office of license inspector was created under the Doran administration. Joseph N. Mounts was appointed secretary to the chief by Mayor Doran, which position Mr. Mounts holds today.

On June 1, 1898, Andrew R. Kiefer became Mayor of St. Paul. He had represented his district in Congress for four years previous to his election as Mayor. He remained for two years, at which time Robert Smith was sent back to office by a large vote. Mayor Smith’s campaign was directed against the administration of police affairs during the Kiefer regime, and the people of St. Paul evidently believed what Smith’s campaigners had to say, and back he went.

And Mayor Smith’s first act was to appoint John J. O’Connor chief of police of St. Paul. Chief O’Connor reorganized the police department within twenty-four hours, and the crime epidemic came to an abrupt end — the four years frolic of arson, robbery, burglary, petty thefts, and about everything described in the criminal code of the State of Minnesota, ceased about as soon as it started. Chief O’Connor started out with John Clark in the chair of the senior captain, and police affairs of St. Paul took on a promising aspect for the start of the twentieth century.