Rochester Police Department History
Early History
The charter of the City of Rochester was granted by the legislature of 1858, and at that time Thomas Ireland was appointed City Marshal. Marshal Ireland was a bricklayer who had come to Rochester in 1856 from New York. In addition to being the town's first marshal, Ireland is credited with laying the Rochester's first chimney brick.
One constable was named for each ward: J. M. Ferrill in the first ward, Horace Loomis in the second ward and William Unger in the third ward. Rochester has always been a fairly peaceful community, and City Council meeting minutes would indicate that the primary duty expected of the marshal was the collection of various taxes and license fees.
The city's first major crime of violence occurred in the spring of 1858. A homicide took place in a saloon on Broadway when a man was stabbed following a quarrel over a card game. The murderer was never apprehended.
In 1860, Rochester's population was about 1,200; by 1865, the number of citizens had more than doubled at 2,633. It appears from the Council records that a new city marshal was elected nearly every year during the city's early history. In 1865, the local paper, "The Rochester Post" ran an editorial concerning the town's police force, stating in part that: "The matter of a reliable and efficient police force in this city is engaging the earnest attention of many of our leading business men and property owners. To say that the present police regulations are just about as efficient as a slice of moonbeam is to reiterate a fact patent to all. True, we have a city marshal; but we understand that his appointment was conferred upon him without his wish and possibly without his knowledge."
The First National Bank was burglarized in March of 1866, and about two thousand dollars worth of gold and currency was taken; the burglars were captured shortly thereafter. The following year burglars entered the courthouse and blew open the safe in the treasurer's office. About fifty dollars cash was taken, along with a number of valuable papers which were later recovered.
In 1871, murder again occurred in this growing community. Two young men, James Willis and Henry Stevens, quarreled over payment of a debt. Willis who was black was the victor in a resulting fist fight. Stevens was angry about being defeated by a black man, and he borrowed a gun. Shortly thereafter the two met on the street, quarreled again, and Stevens shot Willis three times, killing him. Stevens was tried, found guilty and sentenced to a term in the state penitentiary.
In 1877, Henry Kalb was elected city marshal and served in that capacity until 1899. Marshal Kalb came to America from Germany and eventually settled in Rochester in 1856. Probably the most notable event of Marshal Kalb's long service was the killing of Dan Ganey, a notorious burglar of the time.
On June 15, 1879, the village marshal from Kasson requested assistance from Marshal Kalb in apprehending Ganey. Ganey had been followed to Rochester after he escaped arrest in Kasson for an Owatonna burglary. Marshal Kalb arrested Ganey and was escorting him to the corner of Fifth and Main Streets (now West Center and First Avenue) where the Kasson marshal was waiting to take custody. At the corner of Fifth Street (West Center) and Broadway, Ganey turned, pulled a revolver and said to Kalb, "You go!" The marshal stood his ground however, and Ganey fired and missed him. Kalb returned fire and Ganey ran behind a corner store, again firing at the marshal. Marshal Kalb's second shot was better aimed; Ganey was hit in the chest and killed. Several items of stolen property were found on Ganey's person, including a diamond shirt stud, which had been stolen from the governor's residence in St. Paul.
"Marshal Kalb, though quietly unassuming, was strict in the enforcement of the law, and with the tramps and toughs, who were numerous in those days, his word was law. They held him in the same reverence as did a couple of College Street* youngsters of that mischievous age when they had earned a neighborhood reputation for youthful naughtiness. Bob was heard to say to his comrade after a suggestion of some prank, "We could have a good time, couldn't we, Willie, if it wasn't for Marshal Kalb and God."1
*Editor's Note: Fourth Street SW was known as College Street at that time.
In 1888 a City Hall was built, and it included a police station and lock-up area. Rochester's police force was housed there until 1930 when the original structure was torn down. The current City Hall was built on the same site and opened in 1931.