USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > History of Providence County, Rhode Island, Volume I > Part 43
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The report was adopted in town meeting, and in November of that year the night watch was reorganized under the direction of the town council, which was specially authorized to establish a perma- nent watch, and to make such rules and regulations as from time to time were found necessary and expedient. The council appointed twelve men: Richard Marvin, Jonathan French. Calvin Walker, Henry Alexander, Obadiah Mason, Benjamin Peck, Jeremiah Rus- sell, Jonathan Fowie, Daniel Snow, Joseph Snow, Amos Warner and William Andrews. They were divided into two companies of six men, each of which comprised the watch for an entire night, and the companies took turn, each watching every other night. Richard Marvin and Jeremiah Russell were appointed captains, and it was their duty to keep an exact account of the number of nights they themselves watched and also of the men who composed their re- spective watch companies. The accounts were submitted to the town council at regular intervals. The watchmen were compensated for their services at the rate of one dollar for each night that they watched.
The rules and regulations established required the watch of six men to meet alternately at the watch house precisely at 9:30 o'clock
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in the evening, and at 10 o'clock they commenced patrolling the streets and continued to do so until " bell ringing " in the morning.
Each watch was divided into three companies of two men each, who travelled together. The northward watch patrolled the streets as far as Benjamin Cozzens' residence, on North Main street. The westward travelled all the streets as far as Hoyle's tavern and visited Eddy's point once during the night. The southward patrolled all the streets as far as India point. They were kept constantly abroad under the captain and were ordered to be vigilant and to carefully inspect the houses, stores and workshops they passed, in order to prevent fires gaining headway. They were to suppress all riotous conduct in the streets and to commit all refractory persons to the bridewell. All houses which contained riotous or disorderly com- pany were reported in writing to the president of the town council by the captain. The badge of the watch was a staff about six feet in length, with a hook attached to one end. It was the duty of the captain to report all person committed to the bridewell for mis- conduct to "any one or more justices of the peace on the next morn- ing." who would hear the charges and inflict the penalty of the law if the prisoner was found guilty of any misdemeanor.
January 13th, 1800, the town council ordered those persons con- stituting the night watch to abstain from going into any of the houses for the purpose of getting spirituous liquors, and the captains were ordered to report any transgressions of the rule to the town council. March 3d, 1800, the watchmen were ordered to call on all persons appearing in the streets after 11 o'clock at night, and if they refused to give their names they were to be deemed by said watchmen as disorderly and detained in the watch house until the next morning.
October 1st, 1800, a watch was established in the south part of the town by the council as follows: "Whereas request is made to this Council that a watch may be appointed and established in the south part of the town for the purpose of guarding the same and to pre- serve the property therein from being purloined or stolen by the wicked and designing, it is therefore voted and resolved that the following-named persons, to wit: Henry Alexander, Stephen Whipple, Ephriam Congdon, and Demos Bishop be and they are hereby appoint- ed a night watch for that purpose, provided that the expense of said watch be defrayed by subscription, and not considered as a town ex- pense, and that each of said watchmen be compensated for their ser- vices at and after the rate two dollars for every night they may watch, as aforesald, and that the four said persons shall watch alter- nately, two of whom are to constitute the watch for the night, and that they may be vigilant in the performance of their duty, and that they apprehend all persons they may find in that part of the town during the night who may be strolling about, and whose conduct is suspicious, and commit them to the bridewell." Such persons were
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reported in the morning to a justice of the peace for hearing.
October 20th, 1806, the custom of calling out the hour of midnight whilst the watchmen were on their rounds was established. At this meeting the watch was ordered not to suffer any company to remain assembled in any tenement occupied by black people after 10 o'clock at night. If they should refuse to immediately disperse to their re- spective homes when requested to, the watch were directed to com- mit them to the bridewell. If "persons of colour" were found in the street after 10 o'clock at night the watch were ordered to commit them to the bridewell unless a good and sufficient reason were given for their being thus abroad. It was also decreed that it should be the duty of the captains to observe strictly the conduct of the other members of the watch, and to make diligent inquiry concerning the same, and if any disorderly behavior, intemperance or neglect of their duty should come to their knowledge, that the captain should report it to the town council that such disorderly, intemperate or negligent members might be removed. And it was further decreed that each of the captains for their extra services respecting the com- mitment of persons to the bridewell, reporting them to justices of the peace, and in reporting said disorderly, intemperate, and negli- gent members of the watch to the town council, and for all other services, should be allowed 17 cents over and above the usual amount of one dollar for each night of service.
In May, 1808, a volunteer watch was established to assist the town watch. The members were given the same power and authority while on duty as possessed by the town watch. This watch did not remain in existence many months, but there is no record of its dis- bandment. In December, 1812, the owners of property between Wey- bosset bridge and Almy's lane, north of Steeple street, by subscrip- tion paid for the services of two additional watchmen to guard their property. They were under the control of the captain of the town watch. They patrolled alternately one each night, and continued to do so till September, 1813, when the public watch was increased to 16 men. In January, 1814, the town watch was again increased to 20 men, and at the same time their pay was advanced to $1.25 per man for each night of service. In that month some of the citizens hired four men to watch certain parts of that side of the town during the night. The town council conferred the same power ยท and authority on them as was possessed by the town watch and gave them the privilege of using the town watch house. They were placed under the direction of the captain of the town watch. In March, 1814, the number of the town watch was reduced to twelve, the original number, and the pay was reduced to one dollar per night. .
June 8th, 1814, the town council appointed a watch of six men to be stationed on board a vessel with carriage guns, to be anchored
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
between Kettle point and Field's point, below the town. This watch was for the purpose of giving an alarm to the town in case of the appearance of a hostile force. A guard patrolled the bay, and in case of the discovery of any threatening force they were to alarm the watch aboard the vessel by firing their muskets. When so alarmed, or by any discovery of their own, the watch on the vessel were to alarm the town by firing their carriage guns and lighting a beacon on the high land on Field's point. In August the guard and vessel were withdrawn, and at the next meeting of the council the town watch were ordered in case of an alarm of fire or of invasion from without, to immediately repair to the town clerk's office for the pur- pose of taking care of the town's property and the records of the town.
In 1814 volunteer night watch associations were formed in various parts of the town and the members were granted the same power as possessed by the town watch while on duty. They were not allowed to employ substitutes, except from among their members.
In October, 1824, the town watch was increased to 20 men, and their pay was again advanced to $1.25 per night. At that time they were ordered to arrest all persons whom they met who persisted in smoking cigars in the streets and gangways of the town. In March, 1815, the town watch was again reduced to tweive men, and the town council ordered that the men draw lots to determine which ones should be dismissed.
In September, 1815, the night watch for the west side of the town was increased to 16 men, divided into two watches, and served by rotation eight each night. At the same time the night watch for the east side was increased to 28 men, also divided into two watches to patrol in rotation. This proved too great a burden for the town, and in October the watch was reduced again to 12 men. In the mean- time the volunteer watch associations dropped out of existence.
In November, 1816, the watch was increased to 20 men. The cap- tains were ordered to form five patrols of two men each in each watch, and to see that no two men travelled together as partners for a longer time than one week. In March of the next year the watch was again reduced to 12 men.
In November the watch was ordered to meet thereafter at the Hydraulion engine house on Exchange street. In October, 1824, they commenced to patrol at 8 o'clock. In 1826 the watch was increased to 24 men, and in October, 1827, the captains of the watch were au- thorized to make such arrangements and disposition of the several watch companies as they judged most expedient.
In September, 1828, the watch house in the building, which was on the site of the present county court house, was first occupied. In 1832, when the city was incorporated. the watch consisted of 24 men, as follows: Avery Allen, captain of the first watch; David E. Mann,
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
captain of the second watch; Angell Battey, Thomas Hopkins, David Jenkins, William B. Mason, Joseph Saunders, Fayette Thurber, Par- don S. Pearce, Michael Smith, John Saunders, John Holmes, James S. Hudson, Sylvester Bowers, John Wilbur, William Pearce, Edmund Sheffield, Major Tripp, Relief Thurber, Benjamin C. Warner, Edwin Tripp and Benjamin Hathaway.
The pay of the captain had been fixed at $1.25 per night and that of the others at $1 per night. In June of 1833, Henry G. Mumford was elected city marshal and became the chief of the department. In the early part of 1837 attempts made to set fires caused the watch to be ordered on duty at 6:30 o'clock each evening. In October, 1837, Captain David E. Mann died in office, and Captain Avery Allen was placed in command of both watch companies. In December of that year incendiarism prevailed to such an alarming extent that it be- came necessary to appoint 16 additional watchmen who served nearly a year. During this time the city marshal and the captain of the watch were ordered to enforce especial vigilance. In November, 1838, the number of men was reduced to 24, beside Captain Avery Allen, who was ordered not to take any route of patrol, but to per- form so much patrol duty in any and all parts of the city as would not interfere with his supervision and control of the watches.
Incendiarism in the last part of 1839 made the services of 16 extra watchmen again necessary, and they patrolled from December 3d to February 17th of the next year. During this time all the watchmen were compelled to do double duty; that is, each man travelled every night. After the watch was reduced again to 24 men the pay was re- duced to 83 cents and afterward advanced to 873 cents, and the pay of the captain was fixed at $1.
In 1845 Jabez J. Potter was appointed city marshal, and remained in command till 1848, when Daniel K. Chaffee was elected marshal. In this year the first badge was adopted. It was a brass star, but the men were averse to wearing them and carried them in their pockets. Two years later they were compelled to wear them upon the lappels of their coats.
In 1851 ten men were appointed by the city council in joint con- vention as a day police force. Their names were: William H. Hud- son, Jabez J. Potter, George A. Billings, Thomas W. Hart, George W. Wightman, William G. Slack, William B. Cranston, Nathan M. Briggs, William G. Merriweather and John M. Shaw. In July, 1852, the night watch was increased to 32 men and was divided into two districts. Captain Allen continued in command of the division lo- cated at the old town house. Simeon Sherman was placed in com- mand of the other division, which was provided with quarters in the old stone school building which stood on the northwest corner of Summer and Pond streets. On the 18th of May of this year at mid- night William Pullen, one of the watchmen, was murdered by
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
Charles Reynolds on Elbow street; Reynolds fled to Europe and never returned. In November, 1853, the night patrol was increased to 46 men, and the city was divided into five districts. Previous to this time the men were engaged at trades during the day, but when this increase in the force was made all the men were ordered to travel every night. and the majority gave up their day work. The watch house at the corner of College and Benefit streets was the cen- tral station of that time, and at 9 o'clock each evening the men as- sembled there and proceeded to the other four to begin their rounds. The second was located at the corner of Mill and Charles streets: the third on Wickenden street, west of Benefit; the fourth on Summer street, at the corner of Pond; the fifth over the house of Hand Engine No. 7. at the corner of Richmond and Tippecanoe streets. Each of the stations was placed in charge of a sergeant. James W. Sanders was appointed sergeant of the first, Lewis Potter of the second, Ed- win Tripp of the third, Simeon Sherman of the fourth and Joseph WV. Sanders of the fifth. The captain visited each station once every night.
In March, 1854, ten men were added to the night watch. In June William H. Hudson was appointed city marshal, and served till June, 1859, when Thomas W. Hart succeeded, and held the office until it was abolished.
In the latter part of 1860 the old town house was torn down, and the watch was given quarters in the wardroom in the old Water Witch fire engine station, on Benefit street. In April, 1861, the Cen- tral police station, on Canal street, was completed, and the center watch took up its quarters there.
September 30th, 1864, the town watch was abolished and the pres- ent system of police was organized. The night watchmen in the old watch received $1.50 per night, and the day patrolmen received $2 per day. When the new department was organized the night and day men were granted equal power and authority, and their pay was fixed at $2. The population of the city at that time was about 54,900. The cost of maintaining the old watch in the last year of its exist- ence was $49,097.12. The new organization consisted of 99 men, and they were assigned to duty as follows: Thomas W. Hart, city mar- shal; Thomas. J. A. Gross, captain; William B. Cranston, superin- tendent of hacks; Albert A. Slocum, clerk; Warren G. Slack and Ira B. Wilson, warrant officers; John M. Clark, superintendent of lights. Sergeant Benjamin A. Newhall was placed in command of the First station, from which 38 men patrolled; 20 on night duty and 18 on day patrol. The second station was located at the corner of Mill and Bark streets, Sergeant Frederick W. Perry, 12 patrolmen; Third station, Wickenden street, Sergeant Edwin Tripp, 12 patrolmen; Fourth sta- tion, located in the Knight Street fire station, Sergeant Simeon Sher- man, 12 patrolmen; Fifth station, on Richmond street, Sergeant
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
James W. Sanders, 12 patrolmen. The headquarters of the depart- ment were located in the Central station on Canal street. The police in that year made 2,531 arrests, provided lodgings for 1,147 persons. and returned 115 lost children to their parents. The lost or stolen amounted to $18,946.65, of which the police recovered $12,643.75. The cost of maintaining this force for the first year amounted to $86,872.83. In 1865 seven patrolmen were added to the force, and George A. Billings and James O. Swan were appointed detectives. In 1866 the office of chief of police was created, and Nelson Viall was appointed to that position. Previous to this time the appearance of the night watchmen was hardly calculated to invite a stranger's con- fidence. They were paid small wages and from motives of economy wore very rough clothing, for the reason that a smaller loss would be sustained if, in arresting a violent prisoner, their clothing should be torn or soiled. No pretense of wearing a uniform was made. In 1850 the city authorities gave each of the watchmen a heavy over- coat, hoping that the men would cast aside the old camlet cloaks which were worn by many. Neither was there any uniformity in the cut or color then given.
In 1864, when the department was reorganized, a uniform was adopted, but they were not procured until the middle of 1866. It was of blue cloth, made in about the same style as at present, with let- tered, brass buttons, black belts, and caps made of the same material as the clothing. Helmets have since been adopted. At about this time the old system of travelling in pairs was abolished, and since that time they have travelled without partners. In this year the brick building for the Fifth station was erected on Richmond street. In 1867 Albert Staniford was elected chief of police, and served until June, 1870, when Thomas O. Gross was appointed chief. The force was increased to 122 men, and the several stations, except the Second, were refitted and enlarged. August 2d, 1871, Chief of Police Gross died in office, and Captain John W. Knowles was promoted to the office of chief. August 16th the Third, Fourth and Fifth stations were opened for day service, and the force was increased to 142 men. In this year telegraph connection was established between the offices of the chief of police and the mayor. In 1874 the force was increased to 186 men. The demand for so large an increase was in consequence of the annexation of upwards of six miles of territory set off by the general assembly from the town of North Providence, and now desig- nated as the Tenth ward. In this district on Capron street was located a one-story wooden building which had been used as a police station by the town of North Providence. This building was used by the city police as a sub-station for the Fourth district. Roundsman Patrick Eagan was placed in charge, and seven patrolmen were cen- tered there. Another building secured by the city when the Tenth
23
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
ward was annexed is the town hall, located on Branch avenue, the basement of which is used as a lock-up and contains four cells.
The present police stations are located as follows :- Station No. 1, on Haymarket street; No. 2, on Martin street; No. 3, on Wickenden street; No. 4, on Knight street: No. 5, on Plain street; No. 6, on Cap- ron street, and the Wanskuck station. The furniture and various equipments, including 15 horses, are valued in the aggregate at $18,860. There are in connection with the force 206 officers of all grades, which number is fixed by city ordinance. They are as fol- lows: 1 deputy chief, 7 captains, 7 lieutenants, 8 sergeants, 1 super- intendent of hacks, 1 clerk of police, 3 detectives, 1 property clerk, 2 warrant officers, 38 day patrolmen, 4 mounted day officers, 120 night patrolmen, 6 mounted night officers, and 7 superannuated officers. The annual expense of maintaining the department is about $240,000. During the year 1888 there were 5,930 arrests made by the force, of which, 3,178 were Americans, 1,494 Irish, and the remainder scattered among other nationalities. As compared with the arrests for two years previous it is in advance. The number of arrests during those years was as follows: 1886, 5,337; 1887, 5,151. Of the number of arrests in 1888, 4,006 were for drunkenness.
For the beginnings of the very excellent system of protection against accidental fires of which this city may boast we must look backward a century and more in its history. No organized measures were adopted for the extinguishment of fires previous to the year 1754. In that year the people of the compact part of the town peti- tioned the assembly for power to purchase a large "water engine." Obadiah Brown and James Angell were appointed a committee to assess a tax on the people of the compact part of the town for that object. A law was also passed by the assembly which required every housekeeper to be provided with two fire buckets. The matter ap- . pears to have fallen into neglect for several years. The destruction of the court house by fire in 1758 awakened attention to the matter, and in February following the assembly passed an act giving the town power to appoint presidents of firewards, and firewards. The rate previously assessed for the engine was not paid until April, 1759, though the engine appears to have been purchased some time before, the means perhaps having been advanced by some enterprising and public spirited citizens. In December, 1760, another engine was thought necessary, and a meeting of the people of the compact part authorized the same committee to purchase cne in Boston. Engine inen appear to have first been appointed by the town in 1763. From these small beginnings the fire department of Providence has grown. It has kept pace with the times, and there has probably been no period in its history when it would not compare favorably with that of any city of the same class and time.
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HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY.
The fire buckets spoken of were made of leather, painted black, with the owner's name lettered upon their sides, and they held about two gallons each. The usual place for keeping them was in the front hallway. It was the duty of a town official to make an inspection of all the dwellings annually, to see that the requirement was complied with, and neglect on the part of a housekeeper was subject to a fine. Presidents of firewards were three in number, annually chosen, and their duty was to superintend the use of gun- powder for the purpose of blowing up buildings, when it was thought expedient to do so in order to arrest the progress of conflagration. Houses thus destroyed were to be compensated for out of the public treasury. These officers were required to repair to the scene of a fire with their emblem of office in hand, which consisted of a tium- pet painted red and white, and at the scene of action vigorously io exercise their authority. The disobedience of orders given by them was subject to a fine imposed upon the delinquent party.
Those first fire engines were rude affairs, indeed having hardly sufficient resemblance to the improved engines of the present day to suggest their use for the same purpose. They consisted of ob- long boxes, mounted on small wheels of thick, solid wood running on axle arms fastened to each corner of the box, drawn by ropes attached to the forward corners and guided by forcibly hauling the rear end around to the right or left by means of a long lever pro-
: jecting from the rear. The pump was furnished with two brass cylinders containing piston valves operated by levers and side bars. The pipe director stood on a raised platform over the middle of the box, and water was brought in buckets and poured into the box, to be thrown out by the pumps. Among the other duties of the "firewards" was that of forming the men present at a fire into a "lane," for supplying water to the engine. A lane was two rows of men, each extending from the source of supply to the engine for the purpose of passing buckets. Full buckets were passed along one line to the engine, and empty ones returned down the other line to the well or other source of supply. At that time the streets were not lighted, and the citizens were expected to place lights in their win- dows that overlooked the street on hearing an alarm of fire in the night. All the bells were also violently rung to give the alarm, and in point of practical result to add tothe general confusion and excite- ment.
In 1792 there were four engines in the town. Number 1 was housed on North Main street, opposite the First Baptist church; Number 2 at the south end of Benefit street; Number 3 at the north end of the same street, and Number 4 near what is now the corner of Weybosset and Dorrance streets. Gradually the effective force for subduing fires increased, but not perhaps in satisfactory ratio to the needs of the community. The growing want led the people to take
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