Patrolman William M. Tucker, #45: Cleveland’s First Black Police Officer
Wiggins’ research revealed that Officer Tucker headed north after the Civil War. On the way, he met Colonel John F. Herrick, Commander of the Twelfth Ohio Calvary. Colonel Herrick offered…
Read MorePolice Buildings: 17th Precinct, 15619 Lorain Ave, built in 1914
The 17th Precinct began life as the West Park Village Hall. Constructed in 1914 it housed the village offices and police department. The West Park Fire Department was adjacent to…
Read MorePolice Buildings: 16th Precinct, 3600 East 131st Street, built 1920
As early as 1924, Councilman William J. Kennedy described conditions of the 16th Precinct in the Cleveland Plain Dealer as “The station house is no more than a place for…
Read MorePolice Buildings: 15th Precinct, 18415 Nottingham
In the early 1900s, Cleveland’s boundaries expanded to the east and west, as the city annexed small villages and towns on its outskirts. While some communities like Ohio City resisted…
Read MorePolice Buildings: 14th Precinct, 13804 Idarose, ca 1914
As the population of the City of Cleveland grew at the turn of the 20th century, so did it’s boundaries. The City annexed a number of neighboring communities, including West…
Read MorePolice Buildings: 13th Precinct Station, 8003 Superior, ca 1901
At the turn of the 20th century, the population of Cleveland continued to grow, moving east along Superior Avenue. With the increased population came the need for an increased police…
Read More“The Little Lost Girl” Painting
The painting of a policeman guiding and protecting a small girl has graced the walls of the Cleveland Police Department, and now the Cleveland Police Museum, for many years. Many…
Read MorePolice Buildings: Third Precinct, 2495 East 35th, ca. 1872
The Third and Sixth precincts bordered each other, with both having station houses along Woodland Avenue. In 1878, between the two precincts there were “eight hundred arrests, two hundred and…
Read MorePolice Buildings: Second Precinct, ca 1869
The two-story brick building included ten prison cells, offices, an armory, a lunch room, and bath rooms. At the time, it was described as being “of creditable appearance and…is an…
Read MorePolice Buildings: Watch houses, 1853 to 1875
Prior to 1853, the city rented buildings to house both the Watchmen and the prisoners. Newspaper records show Council authorizing the payment of rent and repairs for a Watch House…
Read MoreCommunications: The Radio Room
The Cleveland Police Department installed a new communication system at Central Station in 1929. The radio was designed by Ralph C. Folkman and using the call letters WRBH, the station…
Read MorePolice Buildings: Second Central Station and Patrol Station #1, 1895-1925
Designed by architects Lehman and Schmitt, the new station was “as much in touch with the advances made in the last thirty years as was the old one at the…
Read MorePolice Buildings: First Central Station and Precinct, 1863-1893
The First Precinct boundaries at this time ran from the Cuyahoga River along the lake shore to Erie Street, to Euclid Avenue, to Brownell Street, to Woodland Avenue, to Cross…
Read More1918 Influenza Epidemic in Cleveland
After voluntary closures and suggested social isolation proved unsuccessful in keeping the case numbers down, the city and county mandated closures and quarantines. Calling the pandemic “the most serious menace…
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