Stories from the History of Nashua’s Police and Fire-Rescue Departments.
With the advent of a Police Commission, and no longer being driven by the political whims of the mayor or aldermen, by 1893, the complexion of the Nashua Police Department began to change. This may be due to the Commissioners or may be due to a more aggressive and visionary City Marshal… or a combination of both. Gone was the separation between City Watch and Special Officers along with the separate City Watch budget. The department now had its own budget of an amount commensurate with the real needs of the city.
Personnel changed as well. The department now had a City Marshal, Deputy Marshal, Captain of the Night Watch, Matron, Inspectors (2), Day Patrol Officers (2), Night Patrol Officers (12) and a whopping 63 men available on an on-call basis. This was the first mention ever of a position of “Inspector.”
The City Marshal’s report notes that the police department has been doing a better job of controlling liquor sales in the city, especially on Sundays when all liquor sales are illegal. The report states that those selling liquor on Sunday “have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and in several instances the offenders have been compelled to quit the business.” The police were making a point to close-down all the so-called “kitchen-dives” – homes where liquor was sold on Sundays. The report states that despite closing the “kitchen-dives” there are still around 135 places to purchase a drink in the city.
City Marshal Eaton reports that the city is growing and police presence is needed further and further away from the center of town. He notes that if an officer makes an arrest at the farther reaches of the city, it could take him an hour to walk the suspect to the station, and an hour to get back to his beat. (Imagine an hour of marching a drunk, unruly person to jail.) What he suggested was a system of signal boxes strategically placed around the city, especially in the outskirts, where an officer could request a “paddy wagon” retrieve his prisoner in a timelier manner and allow the officer to continue on his beat. He noted that such a system would be way better and more efficient than simply adding officer head-count.
This was also the year the Nashua Police Relief Association was formed to assist police officers that were disabled due to sickness or injury, or to pay a death benefit in the event an officer is killed in the line of duty. Disabled or otherwise injured officers would receive a dollar a day, not to exceed $100. For officers who die or are killed on the job, their family will receive a $100 death benefit. An initiation fee and regular quarterly dues are paid by the officers into the fund.
At the time this report was written, the fund’s total was already over $700.
By 1893, Marshal Eaton and/or the Police Commission were at work refining police department personnel. Now, they not only had a Captain of the Night Watch and an Inspector, but added a Sergeant, and a “Turn-Key” (which it is assumed would be a jailer). The main body of the department consisted of Day Patrol Officers (2), Night Patrol Officers (13), an impressive 70 On-Call Officers, and 19 other officers deemed Constables. There was no explanation as to the duties or responsibilities of each denomination. This is the first time the term “Constable” has been used in relation to the Nashua Police Dept. since 1860.
Also in 1893, city officials and leaders in the field of healthcare realized a need for a real hospital. With a growing population, railway accidents, industrial accidents and trolly car accidents, and just plain sickness, the need grew every day. Up to this time, the sick and injured were cared for in “unsuitable apartments” at the almshouse (poorhouse) and/or a single room in the police station. On October 9, 1893 the first “Emergency Hospital” in Nashua, located on Spring St. is dedicated. From this would grow the Memorial Hospital. Author’s Note: This was located at 8 Spring St., at the bottom of the hill across from what used to be the Sears parking lot.
Lodgers, (better known as vagrants) those people allowed to stay overnight at the police station having nowhere else to go numbered 2,173 for the year or an average of six people per night, every single night of the year. This may have been due to the hard economic times during this period. The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression brought on by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing. Compounding this was a run on the gold supply. The mid-west saw severe drought which left farmers short of cash to pay debts adding to the misery. As the state of the economy worsened, people began drawing their savings from the banks causing a bank run. Unemployment in 1893 was estimated to be between 8% and 12%. The following year, unemployment would rise to between 12% and 18%.
The changeover to management by Commission and a new Chief was not without its bumps.
Of special note in their Commissioners Report, long-time officer Enoch Chase was dismissed from the department for “violating department rule and regulations” although those violations were not specific. The report also mentions one other un-named officer was reprimanded and suspended. There were also eight resignations out of 13 positions on the full-time force. Apparently, there was some friction with either the new City Marshal or Police Commission or both. In his report, City Marshal Eaton noted, “The discipline of the department, especially in the last half of the year has been good. There has been a marked improvement as the members have manifested a desire to faithfully obey all rules and regulations as they understand them and promptly and cheerfully obey all orders from their superior officers; and it is but just to the men to say that the force is nearly free from petty strife and jealousy.”
Special thanks to Nashua historian Den Levesque for his help with this piece.
Excerpted from Ledoux’s book: Nashua’s Finest: The History of Law Enforcement in Nashua NH
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Yester-Heroes author Gary Ledoux grew up in Nashua’s Crown Hill area, attending Nashua schools and graduating from Nashua High in 1970. He attended NH Vo-Tech for a time, then moved to Amherst, then Manchester, and Weare. He served as a volunteer on the Amherst Fire Dept from 1974 to 1977. A career in the automotive business took him to Florida and then to southern California. After 48 years, he retired in 2017, moving back to Florida with his wife, Rachel, and two dogs. He has published seven books, including two about Nashua history, and has been a contributing editor or contributor to 10 different magazines. Gary can be reached at mayorclum@yahoo.com
