When someone decided to assess traffic on Main St. in the late 1920's, they chose a clever way to do it. The Mitchell Photo Shop in 1928 mounted a movie camera on top of one of the trolley cars and rode it up and down Main St. during the morning and afternoon hours.

There are some great historical details of Main St., the cars, the officer on the most busy corners directing traffic, the styles of cars, dress, the buildings, and more. It's a five part piece that provides a brief look at life in Springfield, MA in the late 1920's.

The movie is a little choppy and shaky given the film was made with the camera and operator are riding on top of the trolley car as it moves up and down Main St.

There have been numerous articles written about the Springfield Police Department; its development, innovations, community policing, and more. As they become available, they will be listed below.

The 1950 Coronet artilce "Behind the Badge" is a sort of "Day in the Life" story about the Springfield Police Department and the people that worked here.  (The article is in Adobe Acrobat format and it quite large.)

The Monsanto Advertisement feature their product "Resloom" and the tag line for the ad is "320 officers prove resloom makes wool shirts washable". Apparently, Monsanto gave all the officers of the SPD the product to use at home for a study on it's effects on wool shirts. (Ad in Acrobat format.) 

We are always interested in historical information and contributions to the growing archives. If you have any old articles about the Springfield Police Department, former Chief's, officers, events, or any other information, please contact the Webmaster.

The photographs and illustrations from the SPD archives has some unique history. There is the image of Bertram Spencer's gun and tools. Known as the "gentleman robber", Spencer terrorized Springfield residents for almost two years, between 1908 and 1910, by his boldness and persistence.

"Beginning in June, 1908, and continuing for nearly two years, a series of sensational crimes occurred in Springfield, Massachusetts, which completely baffled

the police and so terrorized the inhabitants that when these crimes finally culminated, on March 31st, 1910, in the murder of Miss Blackstone, a young woman

much beloved and respected in the community, public indignation and excitement reached a fever heat and the city was in a condition little short of panic.

There was not very much doubt in anyone's mind but that these crimes had all been committed by the same person. Although they alike exhibited an almost un-

paralleled daring and bravado, they were evidently not the work of a professional burglar. In all there seemed a singular lack of motive; although houses were entered, lives threatened and property stolen, the actual gain was trifling and, in most instances, the risk taken was out of all proportion to the possibility of

gain. Indeed this burglar frequently passed by valuable articles and took pretty trinkets of lesser value; the hours chosen for his entries were generally early in the evening when there was every risk of his being detected; when confronted, as he frequently was, by members of the family whom he was robbing, he seemed quite fearless so long as no noise was made; but a scream or any other loud noise excited him and frequently led to some demonstration of violence. He was known even to go out of his way while robbing a house to encounter the inmates, and on several occasions had conversation with them."  (THE MANNER OF MAN THAT KILLS, Spencer)

He was finally caught after one of his typical bold robberies resulted in the shooting and death of Miss Blackstone.   Now, he was wanted for murder and a full scale man hunt ensued.  Read more about Springfield's first "notorious criminal".