To the consternation and dismay of crooks, felons, and troublemakers, the Elkton Town Council decided to provide its tiny police force with greater mobility in Nov. 1900. At a council meeting that month, the town purchased a bicycle for $10, allowing their lawman to pedal rapidly around the municipality. Once it arrived, Bailiff George Biddle, the only officer, whirled quietly through the streets, alleys, and roads of the growing community, performing his duties with greater efficiency,
The fact that Elkton mounted a wheeled patrol caught the attention of other communities. The Chestertown Officer, Mr. Simpson, said if the town furnished a police bicycle, “he might consider it, but he had no hankering to become a mounted policeman.” By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, Officer Biddle was in good cheer, a local newspaper reported, as he was thankful that Mayor McQuilkin and the councilmen armed him with the unit, allowing him to spin from point to point on his rounds.
This was the same year the automobile started showing up in town, but the arrival of a patrol car was nearly thirty years away for the force. But with the town council in such a progressive mood, there was talk of purchasing a pair of horses for street work. They could also be used to pull the steamer of the Singerly Fire Company. Nothing ever came of that idea.
In addition to the Elkton Police Bicycle Patrol, see this article on another transportation innovation in law enforcement when the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office received its first patrol cars in 1968
For additional photos, see this album about the police bike on Facebook
Sheriff’s Office Takes Step Forward in 20th Century Law Enforcement by Providing Patrol Cars
Ah !!! The happy days of old. Before Joe & Mary Jo. I wonder what Ballif Biddle’s retirement and benifits package looked like.
What a simpler time that must have been. So patrol cars in Elkton happened around 1930?
Hdghistory, that’s correct. When did Havre de Grace acquire a patrol car. the Sheriff’s Office didn’t get crusiers until 1968.
Mike, where was Ball’s Oak Hall Clothing House?
Debbie that was in the center of town near where the old courthouse stood.