Historical Perspective

1673-1900

The area now known as Manchester was first settled by the English about 1673, and was in a part of Hartford called "Five Miles Tract." Later it came to be called Orford Parish, and was a part of East Hartford.

By 1790, Orford Parish had about 1,000 residents clustered in small settlements such as Buckland, "the Center" and "the Green." Residents of Orford Parish began agitating for incorporation as a separate town as early as 1812, but their petitions were unsuccessful until 1823, when Orford Parish was incorporated as the Town of Manchester. The town was governed in the old New England tradition of "town meeting," and the public peace was maintained by constables who were selected by vote at a town meeting.

By 1896, many citizens were dissatisfied with the force of the seven constables and one deputy sheriff who were responsible for the town's law enforcement. The Call to Meeting of 1896 included this agenda item: "To see if the Town will authorize its Selectmen to appoint, not exceeding two patrolmen, under provision Sect. 61 of the General Statutes of Connecticut."

This agenda item was the subject of much debate at the meeting, with some citizens expressing opinions that the constables were not making the arrests they should to keep the peace, and the constables expressing the opinion that they were not getting the support of the citizens and the court system. After the free expression of feelings and opinions, it was decided that the constables were rather a law unto themselves, and the selectmen could not force them to do more work than they wanted to do.

The town's solution, addressed in the handwritten minutes for the meeting, was that, "The matter of appointing patrolmen be left discretionary with the Selectmen." On October 5, 1896, Selectman Clarence G. Watkins exercised that discretion and named John Johnson, then a town constable, as a full-time police officer, and a second man, Epraham Symington, as a part time officer.

Johnson went on duty at 7 p.m. and remained until 4 a.m. Symington, who was employed in the silk mills, was assigned to street duty from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. Johnson never wore a uniform. He "just sauntered along the streets, his long arms hanging by his side, and with a pipe in his mouth, which he always smoked upside down, neither looking for trouble, nor running from it." Johnson remained for two years as the night patrolman.

The call for the town meeting of June 18, 1898, with Clarence G. Watkins, Henry W. Barrows, and Charles Ratenberg as selectmen, included the following notation. "Sect. 2 of call: To see if the town will authorize its Selectmen to appoint not exceeding three patrolmen under provision of Sect. 61 of the General Statutes of Connecticut."

The result of the vote was as follows: "Voted: On motion of Clinton W. Cowles, duly seconded, it was further voted to authorize the Selectmen of the town to appoint three patrolmen, one for day duty at the north end of the town, and two for the south end."

John Johnson was offered the position of chief with this increase in personnel, but he was not interested. He had a young family and preferred running a farm. The town selectmen then looked to Hartford for trained people, and hired three Hartford supernumeraries (trained volunteers who augmented the regular patrol force) to form the first uniformed police force.

On the 28th of June, 1898, Albert L. Thomas, Edward F. Babcock, and John H. Watson appeared before Charles R. Hathaway, and took the oath of office as patrolmen in the Town of Manchester.
Albert Thomas, who was the senior man, was looked upon as chief, and he and Watson patrolled the South End of town while Patrolman Babcock patrolled the North End beat. This was the first formal patrol district system, and its officers worked only day duty.

There were only about 10,000 people in Manchester at this time, with more than half the population foreign born, who had come to Manchester to work in the mills. The south end of Manchester was the primary district, with the majority of business located on Main Street. The north end of Manchester was known as Depot Square, and consisted of the intersections of Main and North Main Streets. The north end was composed of a railroad station, a hotel, and several bars. This area was the scene of may fights and "knives were flashed about freely," so a police officer assigned to the north end had to be able to handle himself. One of the duties of the north end officer was to turn off the light at the Depot Square water trough at 11 p.m.

On October 14, 1899, the first local resident was appointed to the Manchester force. Almeron Hayes was appointed to replace John Watson, who had resigned to become a regular with the Hartford Police Department. Thomas and Babcock also left when they were eligible to become regulars on the Hartford Police Department. John Sheriden became the second local appointee in 1899, when Babcock resigned.

In 1900, the total police budget was $2,720, and the force consisted of five men. According to records for that year, five policemen received yearly salaries over $100. The men and salaries included Albert Thomas ($905.32); E.F. Babcock ($752.66); A.G. Hayes ($702.85); Fred Snow ($136.85); and J.H. Watson ($119.12). Several part-time men were paid nominal fees.

The predominate crimes at the turn of the century were breach of peace, drunkenness, and assault. There were no motor vehicles and the vehicle law consisted of local ordinances which forbade driving a horse more than 20 miles per hour on Main Street, or leaving a horse without a blanket in cold weather.

When a police officer made an arrest in the north end, he would handcuff his prisoner(s) to the hitching posts in Depot Square, go out in the rear of the Cowles Hotel to a stable, hitch up a one-horse rig, and bring the prisoner(s) to the south end lock-up.

The first Manchester lock-up was built in 1869, on the west side of North School Street, at a cost of $613. The town purchased the property for $100 and put up a one-story brick structure, which contained two cells and a lobby in which prisoners could lounge. Inmates sawed wood and fed it into a small stove to heat the building. In 1878, a second town jail was erected, for $816, on Spruce Street, between School and Wells Streets. This second facility made it easier on the constables who no longer had to make the long trip to North School Street.

The town's Hall for Records building at 66 Center Street was completed in 1897, at a cost of $12,500. It housed the probate office, town clerk's office, court room, and a new police station located in the basement of the building, which included for cells for prisoners.

What happened to the North School Street lock-up is unknown, but in 1896, three inmates in the Spruce Street jail used some firewood to pry out the iron bars in the windows. They escaped into the woods at the rear of the building and were never seen again. The cells in the Hall of Records replaced the Spruce Street lock-up.