Dayton’s Police Force…

By 1867, Dayton was a full-fledged city that had grown by leaps and bounds. With a population of over 25,000, Dayton was ranked the 45th largest city in the nation. On March 29th of that same year, the state’s legislature granted Dayton the right to organize a police department, as only first-class cities were entitled to do. The newly formed position of ‘Police Patrolmen’ was most often filled by returning Civil War veterans. Prior to that, Dayton’s only means of protection was through its township constable and its own armed citizens. Pictured here are some of Dayton’s finest, circa 1912, sporting their “Peeler” police hats and showing off their wooden clubs, also known as batons. Newly appointed officers at that time were required to buy their own uniforms and firearms, but they were issued hats, clubs, club cords, whistles and badges as standard equipment. This photograph is from the William Preston Mayfield/Marvin Christian Collection at Dayton History.

To see other historical images from our collection, search our Digital Photo Archive.