In 1869 the Seattle City Charter created a Marshall position, and by 1875 Ordinance 66 established day and night police. An amendment to the city charter in 1883 changed the Marshall to the Chief of Police.
This D. R. Judkins photograph, taken during J. C. Mitchell's term as chief in 1888-1889, shows 17 men in police uniforms in two rows. The police force is arranged before a building, and two more people can be seen looking through a window on the right side.
David Roby Judkins (D. R. Judkins, 1836-1909) was a photographer with studios in Port Townsend and Seattle beginning in 1879 until he moved to Alaska around 1898.
Printed beneath image: J. C. Mitchell, Chief, W. I. Peer, A. W. Ryan, E. R. Harding, B. W. Thomspon, D. Phillips, E. Kinley, H. Shehan, S. Leckie, H. A. Bigelow, E. Briggs, Captain, W. A. Cover, Z. T. Holden, W. E. Carey, Wm. Morris, P. Farraher, D. F. [last name torn off], Police Force of Seattle, Washington Territory, D. R. Judkins, Photographer.
Caption information sources: Seattle Police Department Annual Reports, 1894-Ongoing, Finding Aid, Seattle (Wash.), City Clerk, http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74906; "A Look Back at Seattle Police Chiefs," by Casey McNerthney, Seattle PI, February 10, 2009.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on cardboard : b&w ; 10.5 x 13.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
