National Park Service United States Park Police: A History

¹ Kenneth G. Alfers, "The Washington Police: A History, 1800-1866," Ph.D. dissertation, George Washington University, 1975, pp. 16-17.

² U.S. Statutes at Large 12: 320-26.

³ An Act Making Appropriations for the Public Buildings and Grounds, June 30, 1834, U.S. Statutes at Large 4: 723; Report of the Commissioner of Public Buildings, Dec. 23, 1834, House Doc. 35, 23d Congress, p. 3.

⁴ Deficiency Act of May 15, 1850, U.S. Statutes at Large 9: 427; Appropriations Act of Apr. 3, 1851, ibid., p. 613.

⁵ "Report of the Commissioner of Public Buildings," in Report of the Secretary of the Interior, 1857 (Washington, 1857), p. 728.

⁶ House Exec. Doc. 109, 39th Congress, May 16, 1866.

⁷ Appropriations Act of July 28, 1866, U.S. Statutes at Large 14: 315; Deficiency Act of Dec. 20, 1866, ibid., p. 374.

⁸ Appropriations acts of Mar. 2, 1867, ibid., pp. 456-57, 466.

⁹ Letter, Col. W. W. Harts to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, June 16, 1916, Park Police file (No. 180), Public Buildings and Grounds correspondence 1907-1921, Record Group 42, National Archives, Washington, D.C. This record collection hereinafter cited as PB&G.

¹⁰ Capt . R. C. Montgomery, USPP, "Guardians of Washington's Parks," Nation's Capital Magazine, April 1931, p. 8.

¹¹ Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers to the Secretary of War for the Year 1879 (Washington, 1879), p. 1883.

¹² Appropriations Act of June 20, 1874, U.S. Statutes at Large 18: 89.

¹³ List of park watchmen July 29, 1880, Letters Received, PB&G.

¹⁴ U.S. Statutes at Large 21: 229.

¹⁵ General Order No. 459, July 2, 1880, and Meagan endorsement on copy of order to Casey, Letters Received, PB&G.

¹⁶ U.S. Statutes at Large 22: 243.

¹⁷ Letter, President W. B. Webb, Board of D.C. Commissioners, to Col. John M. Wilson, Officer in Charge, Public Buildings and Grounds, July 14, 1886, Letters Received, PB&G; letter, Attorney General A. H. Garland to Secretary of War William C. Endicott, July 30, 1886, ibid.; General Order No. 200, Aug. 10, 1886, ibid.

¹ Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1886 (Washington, 1886), pp. 2093-94.

² Letter, Chapman to Kirkwood, Jan. 5, 1880, Letters Received, Public Buildings and Grounds, Record Group 42, National Archives, Washington, D.C.; letter, Ramsey to Kirkwood, Jan. 9, 1880, ibid. This record collection hereinafter cited as PB&G.

³ Letter, Thomas J. Hill to Col. Thomas L. Casey, Mar. 24, 1880, Letters Received, PB&G.

⁴ Letter, John Watt to Col. Thomas L. Casey, Oct. 8, 1880, ibid.; letter, Chapman to George H. Brown, Oct. 18, 1880, ibid.

⁵ Letter to Col. Thomas L. Casey, July 20, 1880, ibid.

⁶ Letter to Col. A. F. Rockwell, Officer in Charge, Public Buildings and Grounds, July 15, 1884, ibid.

⁷ Letter, Robert J. Stevens to Casey, July 28, 1879, ibid.; letter, Crison to George H. Brown, Aug. 9, 1879, ibid.

⁸ Letter, George H. Brown to Wilson, July 7, 1887, ibid.; note, Wilson to Foreman John Brown, September 1887, ibid.

⁹ Letter, Col. Theodore A. Bingham to Park Watchmen, Mar. 29, 1900, ibid.

¹⁰ Letter, George H. Brown to Col. Theodore A. Bingham, Sept. 20, 1899, ibid.

¹¹ Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1899 (Washington, 1899), p. 3846.

¹² Record of Arrests by U.S. Park Watchmen, Apr. 26, 1899, to Dec. 31, 1907, Entry 219, PB&G.

¹ Appropriations Act of Apr. 17, 1900, U.S. Statutes at Large 31: 116.

² Historical file, U.S. Park Police Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

³ Letter, Bingham to Jackson, Oct. 5, 1899, Letters Received, Public Buildings and Grounds, Record Group 42, National Archives, Washington, D.C. This record collection hereinafter cited as PB&G.

⁴ Letter to Jacob B. Perkins, June 20, 1900, ibid.

⁵ Memorandum, Bingham to Park Watchmen, May 28, 1900, ibid; illustrated in Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1900 (Washington, 1900), p. 5244; Roger Phillips, "The Park Police: History and Authority," Police Association News, June 1976, p. 12.

⁶ Memorandum, Symonds to Park Watchmen, July 11, 1903, Letters Received, PB&G; Phillips, "The Park Police: History and Authority," p. 12.

⁷ Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1902 (Washington, 1902), p. 2730.

⁸ Ibid., p. 2728.

⁹ Ibid.; letter, Bingham to John R. Proctor, May 3, 1902, USPP historical file.

¹⁰ Report of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1903 (Washington, 1903), pp. 2534-35.

¹¹ Report of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1907 (Washington, 1907).

¹² Report of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1908 (Washington, 1908), p. 2389.

¹³ Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, 1912 (Washington, 1912), p. 3498.

¹⁴ Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, 1913 (Washington, 1913), p. 3222.

¹⁵ H.R. 14742, 63d Congress; letter, Tumulty to Harts, Apr. 6, 1914, Park Police file (No. 180), PB&G; letter, Harts to Tumulty, Apr. 8, 1914, ibid.; letter, Tumulty to Secretary of War Lindley M. Garrison, June 23, 1914, ibid.; letter, Assistant Secretary of War Henry Breckinridge to Rep. James Hay, July 17, 1914, ibid.

¹⁶ Report of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1915 (Washington, 1915), p. 3720.

¹⁷ Report of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1917 (Washington, 1917), p. 3710.

¹⁸ Ibid., p. 3711.

¹⁹ Memorandum, Maj. H. C. McLean to Col. Clarence S. Ridley, Aug. 22, 1918, Lafayette Park file (No. 173), PB&G.

²⁰ Barry Mackintosh, Rock Creek Park: An Administrative History (Washington, 1985), pp. 19-20; Report of Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1920 (Washington, 1920), p. 4130; U.S. Statutes at Large 41: 364.

²¹ Report of Chief of Engineers. U.S. Army, 1921 (Washington, 1921), p. 2066.

²² Report of Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1920 (Washington, 1920), p. 4129.

²³ Reports on Sick and Injured Record Book (Entry 220), PB&G.

²⁴ Hearing on S. 3659, June 22, 1922, House Public Buildings and Grounds Committee Print No. 25, 67th Congress, p. 4.

²⁵ U.S. Statutes at Large 43: 175.

²⁶ Hearing on S. 3659, p. 4.

²⁷ Act of Feb. 26, 1925, U.S. Statutes at Large 43: 983.

²⁸ Annual Report of the Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1926 (Washington, 1926), p. 33.

²⁹ District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1933. Hearings before the Subcommittee of House Committee on Appropriations in Charge of District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1933, 72d Congress, 1st Session (Washington, 1932), p. 1020.

³⁰ Annual Report of the Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1931 (Washington, 1931), p. 61.

³¹ "Park Police Give Added Service to Those Sleeping Outdoors," Evening Star, July 27, 1931, Washingtoniana clipping collection, Martin Luther King Library, Washington, D.C.

³² Annual Report of the Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1932 (Washington, 1932), p. 29.

³³ Executive Order 6166, U.S. Code 5, secs. 124-32. The order briefly retitled the National Park Service the Office of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations; the original name was restored early in 1934.

³⁴ Public Law 235, 64th Congress, U.S. Statutes at Large 39: 535.

³⁵ The responsibility for public buildings acquired from this office in the 1933 reorganization remained with the NPS until 1939.

¹ Letter, Harts to Baker, June 16, 1916, Park Police file (No. 180), Public Buildings and Grounds correspondence 1907-1921, Record Group 42, National Archives, Washington, D.C. This record collection hereinafter cited as PB&G.

² Work of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission; Statements of Lieut. Col. U.S. Grant, 3d, Maj. Carey H. Brown, and Charles W. Eliot, 2d, before the Committee on the District of Columbia, House of Representatives, March 10, 1928 (Washington, 1928), p. 9.

³ Clipping from Evening Star, Sept. 22, 1932, in Park Police Reports and Correspondence 1930-1933, PB&G.

⁴ "Cammerer Flails Hazen Suggestion To Merge Police," Washington Herald, Nov. 16, 1933, Washingtoniana clipping collection, Martin Luther King Library, Washington, D.C.; "Park Police Will Learn All the Tricks of a Professional Guide in the Near Future," Washington Daily News, Jan. 17, 1934, ibid. Clipping collection hereinafter cited as MLK.

⁵ "Police Capt. Kelly Would Absorb Park, White House Forces," Washington Daily News, Mar. 11, 1935, clipping in National Capital Parks scrapbooks, Record Group 79, National Archives; District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1938, Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 75th Congress, 1st Session, on the District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1938 (Washington, 1937), p. 747.

⁶ "Our Two Police Forces," Oct. 25, 1937, MLK.

⁷ H. S. Wagner and Charles G. Sauers, "Study of the Organization of the National Capital Parks," 1939, p. 29. (Copy in History Division, National Park Service, Washington, D.C.)

⁸ "Hebert Bill Asks Park Police Shift to Metropolitan," Washington Daily News, Nov. 22, 1944, clipping in National Capital Parks Policing file 801-03, RG 79, National Archives; "Citizens' Group Backs Police Merger Bill," Evening Star, Feb. 6, 1945, clipping ibid.; "Ickes Accused of Meddling in District," Washington Post, Mar. 13, 1945, clipping ibid.

⁹ Memorandum, Acting Director Arthur E. Demaray, NPS, to Secretary of the Interior, Mar. 13, 1945, National Capital Parks Policing file 801-03; Washington Daily News, Mar. 8, 1945, clipping ibid.; Washington Post, Mar. 13, 1945, clipping ibid.

¹⁰ Statement in National Capital Parks Policing file 801-03.

¹¹ "Would Cut Rank of Park Police," Washington Times-Herald, Mar. 28, 1945, clipping ibid.; H.R. 2656, 79th Congress, Apr. 9, 1945; memorandum, Arthur E. Demaray to Hillory A. Tolson, Apr. 14, 1945, National Capital Parks Policing file 801-03.

¹² Congressional Record 91: 7368.

¹³ "Police Bill Veto," Evening Star, July 10, 1945, MLK; "Park Police Measure 'Dead,' Hebert Says," Evening Star, Sept. 30, 1945, ibid.

¹⁴ H.R. 2053, 80th Congress, Feb. 19, 1947; District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1948, Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 80th Congress, 1st Session, on the District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1948 (Washington, 1947), p. 1322.

¹⁵ H.R. 7068, 80th Congress, July 29, 1948; Congressional Record 94: 9528-29.

¹⁶ Letter to Rep. Richard J. Welch, Oct. 7, 1947, in House Report 1299, 80th Congress.

¹⁷ U.S. Statutes at Large 62: 81; 84: 827.

¹⁸ Interior Department Appropriation Bill for 1950, Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 81st Congress, 1st Session (Washington, 1949), p. 365.

¹⁹ John W. Stepp, "D.C. Heads Drop Plan for Reorganization to Take Over Park Police," Evening Star, Apr. 25, 1952, MLK.

²⁰ "Fiscal Year 1984 United States Park Police Budget Briefing Questions," historical file, U.S. Park Police Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

¹ Alfred E. Lewis, "Plans on Discipline, Rank Suggested for Park Police," Washington Post, Nov. 21, 1957, Washingtoniana clipping collection, Martin King Library, Washington, D.C. Clipping collection hereinafter cited as MLK.

² Ibid.; Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1959, Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 85th Congress, 2nd Session (Washington, 1958), p. 424.

³ James R. Carberry and Alfred E. Lewis, "Feuds and Low Morale Found in Park Police," Washington Post, June 25, 1961, MLK.

⁴ "Park Police Lectured on Grievances," Evening Star, Mar. 23, 1961, MLK.

⁵ William Duke and J. Theodore Crown, "Chief of Park Police Would Fight Ouster," Evening Star, Aug. 6, 1961, MLK; Chuck Stone, "Sure, I Turned Down the Park Police Chief Job," Washington Afro-American, Aug. 5, 1961, MLK.

⁶ Alfred E. Lewis, "Interior Plans Ranger-Like Park Police," Washington Post, Aug. 11, 1961, MLK.

⁷ "Circumventing Civil Service" (editorial), Aug. 13, 1961, MLK.

⁸ "The Advantages of Travel," Sept. 21, 1961, MLK.

⁹ Telephone interview with Castro, Dec. 9, 1988.

¹⁰ Castro interview; "Park Police Pair Ordered Out of Town," Washington Post, March 15, 1962, MLK.

¹¹ "Stewart Due For Another Assignment," Washington Post, Apr. 8, 1962, MLK; Alfred E. Lewis, "Stewart Got $3600 Raise When Ousted," Washington Post, June 10, 1962, MLK.

¹² H.R. 8567, 87th Congress.

¹³ John J. Lindsay, "Lawmaker Vows to Ban Park Police Unless Members Learn to Behave," Washington Post, March 10, 1962, MLK.

¹⁴ Congressional Record 108: 5575.

¹⁵ Public Law 87-797, Oct. 11, 1962, U.S. Statutes at Large 76: 907.

¹⁶ Castro interview; Alfred E . Lewis, "Chief of Ranger Service Will Head Park Police," Washington Post, Aug. 19, 1962, MLK.

¹⁷ "Asset to the Parks," Aug. 24, 1962, MLK.

¹⁸ "Park Police Trials," Aug. 25, 1962, MLK.

¹⁹ Alfred E. Lewis, "Park Police Chief Completes Report on Guam; Retirement Due in Month," Washington Post, Dec. 31, 1962, MLK.

²⁰ Alfred E. Lewis, "Park Police on the Verge of New Era," Washington Post, Apr. 1, 1963, MLK; "U.S. Park Police Head Sees Morale Buildup," Evening Star, May 5, 1963, MLK.

²¹ Telephone interviews with T. Sutton Jett and James J. Lyons, Nov. 1, 1988.

²² Interview with Lynn H. Herring, Feb. 21, 1989.

²³ Paul W. Valentine, "Protest Incidents Raise Questions About Park Police," Sept. 21, 1970, MLK.

²⁴ Ibid.

²⁵ Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1972, Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 92nd Congress, 1st Session (Washington, 1971), pp. 667-68.

²⁶ U.S. Park Police Annual Report, 1972.

¹ The United States Park Police: 1975 (Washington, 1976).

² Public Laws 90-331 of June 6, 1968, and 94-524 of October 17, 1976, enable the Secret Service to require assistance from federal departments and agencies in performing its protective duties.

³ "Park Police Acquire 3 Rockefeller Horses of Noted Morgan Line," Evening Star, Apr. 22, 1946, Washingtoniana Clipping Collection, Martin King Library, Washington, D.C. (hereinafter cited as MLK); Interior Department Appropriations for 1954, Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 83rd Congress, 1st Session (Washington, 1953), p. 226.

⁴ "20-Man Park Police Riot Squad Stands Inspection at Monument," Evening Star, Sept. 30, 1950, MLK; "Park Police Add New Emergency HQ . . . A Trailer," Washington Post, July 19, 1950, MLK.

⁵"History of the United States Park Police Aviation Section," historical file, U.S. Park Police Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

⁶ One Park Police sergeant has also been assigned to Lake Mead National Recreation Area since 1972. He supervises the law enforcement rangers there -- the only place with such an arrangement. (Lake Mead's proximity to Las Vegas, Nevada, poses special demands on its rangers.)

⁷ The United States Park Police: 1977 (Washington, 1978), pp. 13, 17.

⁸ Memorandum, "Law Enforcement in the National Park Service," Aug. 13, 1976, USPP historical file; Public Law 94-458, Oct. 7, 1976, U.S. Statutes at Large 90: 1939.

⁹ Interview with Lt. Michael Fogarty, Feb. 19, 1988.

¹⁰ "Fiscal Year 1984 United States Park Police Budget Briefing Questions," USPP historical file.

¹¹ "Park Police Unit Being Integrated," Washington Pittsburgh Courier, Sept. 10, 1949, MLK; "First Corporal Is Named by D.C. Park Police," Washington Afro-American, Nov. 20, 1954, MLK.

¹² "Ace of D.C. Policewomen Soon Will Join Park Force," Evening Star, Dec. 1, 1941, MLK; "Park Police Training School Gets First Woman 'Student,'" Washington Times-Herald, Jan. 6, 1943, MLK.

¹³ " She Always Gets Her Man," Evening Star, Aug. 22, 1954, MLK.

¹⁴ Telephone interview with William McDonnell, Mar. 1, 1989.

¹⁵ The United States Park Police: 1975, p. 32.

¹⁶ Lance Gay, "Facts Close In on Absent Mills," Washington Star-News, Oct. 10, 1974, MLK.