Stories from the History of Nashua’s Police and Fire-Rescue Departments.
The year is 1900, the turn of the 20th century, Nashua’s population is 23,900; about 4 times what it was only 50 years prior. Nashua now had 75 police officers. Fifty years prior, Nashua had one lone lawman.
It was about this time the “horseless carriage” made its debut in Nashua. Frank Anderson was the first automobile owner in Nashua and drove a Stanley Steamer. It is unknown if he ever received a traffic citation. At the turn of the century, motorized vehicles and their inexperienced drivers without licenses, driving cars that were not registered, with minimal to no safety devices, were left to their own devices to maneuver through city streets devoid of traffic lights and road markings. Coaches, buggies, horses (and “horse exhaust”) clogged the street mixing with the loud, rattling of early autos. Many roads were covered with dirt (or mud) or cobblestones that jarred the teeth out of driver and passenger. Very few streets were smoothed with macadam, an early form of paving.
The Greeley Building, a fixture on Library Hill since 1833, and one of the oldest buildings in Nashua was picked up and moved across Clinton Street where today, it is Fody’s Tavern. The Hunt Memorial Library took its place on the hill continuing to serve as one of Nashua’s most venerable landmarks.
The business section of Nashua continued to creep south from Railroad Square devouring Victorian homes and lovely shade trees in its path. The home of Dr. Elijah Colburn, on the NE corner of Temple and Main streets was one of those falling to the wrecking ball in 1891 to make room for the iconic Odd Fellows building.
In June, 1900, Nelson’s 5 and 10 Cent Store opened on the east side of Main St. just north of the City Hall. Norwell’s Department Store had opened a few years before on the west side of Main St. almost across the street from Nelson’s and by this time had grown considerably. In 1912, Sceva Speare will buy out Norwell’s and the store will be known as Speare’s Dry Goods Company. By this time, Nashua’s iconic C.H. Avery furniture store had already been in business for over 10 years.
By this time, Nashua was a veritable melting pot of immigrants from all over the world. Persons from Lithuania, Poland, Greece, Russia and Italy as well as more French-Canadians worked shoulder to shoulder in the textile and shoe factories. This prompted social clubs to crop up all over the city to cater to each ethnicity. The Nashua foot patrol police officer would get to know all the clubs and many of the patrons.
Apparently, during this time, “fencing” stolen goods through pawnbrokers was a real problem. An ordinance was finally enacted to control the acquisition and selling of merchandise by pawn brokers. City Marshal Eaton brought the need for such a law to the attention of the mayor and aldermen in 1894. The ordinance specified the following:
- Every pawnbroker must be licensed, receiving a license through the city aldermen
- All items left for pawn must be documented in detail and kept in a book. The book must be shown to any police officer requesting to see same.
- Brokers may not receive any item for pawn from a minor. Brokers must wait at least two weeks after an item’s expiration date before it is sold.
- All licenses are applicable to a particular place where business will be conducted.
- The cost of a license will be $20 plus $100 bond posted.
Nashua publishes its 50th Annual Report on the city’s business for the fiscal year ending 12/31/02. Despite tremendous population growth with a widely diverse mass of people, the majority of which were blue-collar workers, some of which spoke little or no English, the Nashua Police department managed to keep everything well in-hand. Business was booming, large advances were being made in commercial and industrial enterprise, society was changing and the city becoming more sophisticated – yet the Nashua Police took it all in stride.
The Police Dept had been under the rule of the Police Commission now for more than 10 years. This seems to have greatly stemmed the “revolving door” of the top command within the department. Their department budget was now realistic and there was more than enough manpower to go around.
In 1903, the city and the department stood on the cusp of society’s next major challenge – the motor car. On August 11, 1903, the first city ordinance pertaining to automobile traffic is passed. It states that the speed limit for bicycles, motor cycles, automobiles or any other self-propelled vehicle, within the “compact parts of the city of Nashua,” shall not exceed 8 miles per hour.
On July 1, 1903, the new pay scale for the Nashua Police Department took effect with the following:
- City Marshal – $1,000 per annum paid quarterly
- Assistant Marshal – $75 per annum paid quarterly
- Night Watch Captain – $75 per annum paid quarterly
- Each regular Watchman, Constable or Police Officer – $2.25 per day when actually employed / paid twice monthly
In addition, the city marshal, assistant marshal, and each regular officer will be allowed $50 per year for purchasing uniforms. (Author’s Note: $1,000 in 1903 is worth $35,772 in 2024.)
In 1904, City Marshal Alvin Eaton is replaced by William Wheeler. Wheeler had been Eaton’s Assistant Marshal since 1893.
Of note for this period, there were no “intoxicated persons assisted home” to report. It is probably not reasonable to assume that Nashuan’s stopped drinking. However, given the fact that there is a new city marshal, and a new mayor, and the fact that arrests for illegal liquor has all but disappeared, the department’s focus may have been turned elsewhere.
During FY1904 there were 847 arrests. Some of the more interesting arrests were for, breaking into a sealed freight car (2), breaking quarantine law (1), derisive words (1), dressed as a woman (1), evading military law (1), fast driving, automobile (1), and hunting on Sunday (2). This is the first time in the department’ history that “fast driving” in mentioned in the context of automobile travel.
In his inaugural Mayoral address of January 2, 1905, Andros Jones noted, “The police department needs a patrol wagon and police signal system. These improvements would add very materially to the efficiency of the force; but I cannot recommend that the city go to the expense of procuring them at this time.” City Marshals had been asking for a paddy wagon since 1892. Sometimes, the wheels of progress move ever so slowly.
Excerpted from Ledoux’s book: Nashua’s Finest: The History of Law Enforcement in Nashua NH
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 [email protected]