Honoring Founders’ Legacy Month: In 1904, the community saw the beginning of city limits, with Judge J.W. Shirley serving as justice of the peace appointed to preside over the area. The streets were dirt roads, and the community was only two square miles. Constable Jake Reed and other men patrolled the streets on bicycle and foot, and by 1908, the town had its first jail – located in the alley south of Walnut Avenue, between Third Street and Main Street.
When officially incorporated in February 1909, with a population of 815 people, the foundations of Huntington Beach law enforcement were laid. Edmund C. Wright, the town photographer elected by the people, assumed his role as the first City Marshal (retitled Police Chief in 1927). Marshal Wright reported to the Trustees he had no key to access “City Hall” – the back room of the First National Bank on Main Street and Walnut Avenue wedged between the bank proper and the tiny post office, fitted out mostly with cheap used furniture– and deemed the building unfit. In April, he took on the duty of Street Superintendent as well.
On June 28, 1909, Alfred G. Boone joined as Deputy Marshal. Boone was a local tailor known for crafting suits as affordable as $15 at his Ocean Avenue shop. Today, we pay tribute to these pioneers who shaped our City’s policing history.
