Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond Du Lac From Early Times to the Present, Personal Reminiscences, Remarkable Events, Election Results, Military History, Etc.

              278 BUSINESS HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC
1879—G. A. Kretlow. 1896—Sealy O'Conor.
1880—G. A. Kretlow. 1897—Thos.  McGrath.
1881—C. F. P. Clough. 1898—Thos.  McGrath.
1882—C. F. P. Clough. 1899—Simon  Schaefer, from Jan.  1st.
1883—G. A. Kretlow. 1900—Simon Schaefer.
1884—G. A. Kretlow. 1901—F. A. Nolan, to me present time.
During the entire period of the City Marshals, there was no headquarters other than the rooms where the common council met, which were also the city clerk's office. As previously stated, the Marshals had no assistants in their police work and everything was run on a cheap scale. When the police came matters were changed a little. The chief of police had two policemen with headquarters. The first police office was on Division street, without cells and other means of caring for prisoners. These had to go to the county jail, and about this there was trouble, as the county wanted pay from the city for care of their local wrong doers. Mayors Patchen and Foster, in the early seventies, were able to measure the situation, and the first of the police stations came, on the ground where the present station stands. Under the guidance of James Swineford, as chief of police, we began to have a force worthy the name of police.
In early days, a small wooden building, hardly large enough for a smoke house, located on Portland street, served as a city lock-up. It had no cells, or its single apartment might have been called one cell, and was made secure by weak, wooden shutters. It was used only for the incarceration of unfortunates, who had become so drunk they could not break out of a paper house.
In i866, a more substantial structure of brick, with cells and .apparatus for warmth, was erected near the corner of Macy, on First street. In 1878, this having become too small to accommodate the constantly increasing number of tramps, or wandering vagrants, and too dilapidated to secure criminals, the present brick and stone structure was built at a cost of $2,300 on the same site. It is two stories high with six single and four double cells, and a commodious office for the chief of police and police headquarters.
In 1904, this structure was further improved by an addition to the south side, containing a private office for the chief of police and an examination room, and the station otherwise improved by various changes. This building is used merely as a detention prison and not for persons under sentence. It is probably not necessary to say that these rooms are not provided with downy couches or Morris chairs and a person so unfortunate as to get in there might possibly prefer the Erving or Palmer House.
In the old times when a political pull put a man on the force, no matter what his age or how infirm, the force could not be efficient. Some of the policemen of twenty years ago, would make sorry work of it now. Men who have passed to 55 or 60 years of age, are now cut out of the police service in most cities and under civil service rules look for young, strong, healthy men. Police service is very different from what it was seventeen years ago. In the detective service  specialties  are worked.    There are  safe blowing  detectives,