Lima Police History
The Lima Police Department was officially organized on May 1st 1887. It developed from seven officers at that time to a force of eighteen in 1909. Officers were suspended or fired frequently, and there was little or no tenure. Records indicate they were paid $60 a month for working everyday.
First Lima Police Officers on May 1st 1887. Left to right, first row Patrolman Cornelius Roush, Chief James P. Harley, and Patrolman Joel B. Crabb. Second row: Patrolman Thomas A. O'Brien, Augustus Miller, Sam Meeks, and Daniel Corcoran.
In the early 1900's a policeman was issued a gun, badge, a whistle, a flashlight, and a set of keys. He responded to calls by riding the streetcar or walking to his destination. There were no vehicles owned by the department.
Lima's first police station was built in 1831 in the 100 block of South Main just below the Square at a cost of $179. It served as headquarters for both city and county offices and the town marshall. In 1907 a new police and fire station was built at the corner of High and Central for $135,000. While the new station was well suited for the approximately eighteen members of the department in 1907, after sixty-two years of growth and development it was terribly inadequate by 1969. The department moved to its present location at 117 East Market on Easter weekend in 1969.
Patrolman Ellis Vandemark poses with his cruiser at the rear of his home on North McDonel in 1943. The cruiser was a 1941 Studebaker.