Posts about St. Louis and miscellaneous history with a particular focus on building and police history.
This post is an exerpt from the second edition of St. Louis’ Civil War: The Streetcar Strike of 1900 (Second Edition). Saint Louis Police arrested transit security officer Ora Havill for the third time in a week on Sunday, June 3, 1900. Havill shot multiple men in two previous incidents. Havill claimed self-defense on both occasions. Havill fired six to […]
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On Saturday, April 9, 2022, the Franklin County Missouri Historical Society invited me to give a PowerPoint presentation on the Union Missouri Bank Robbery of 1902. The book covers the robbery, the investigation, two nationwide hunts for the fugitive and a daring break from the St. Louis City Jail. Two daring robbers, not yet 23 years of age, pulled off […]
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21-year old Charles Merrell had already served a term in the Missouri Penitentiary for stealing a car in Scotland County, when he got the idea to hold up the Morris Packing Company on Saturday, April 22, 1922. Merrell could not pull the job by himself, so he recruited another ex-convict, 33-year-old Hugh Pinkley. Merrell was employed as a mechanic at […]
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On the morning of Saturday, April 22, 1922, a green Paige automobile pulled up in front of the Morris Packing Company at 3000 S. Broadway. One man emerged, looked around and waived for his companion to exit the back seat. After hesitating for a few seconds, the other man exited as the automobile crawled down the busy street. The time […]
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On Wednesday, January 10, 1900, St. Louis Police Officer Paul Girard was standing at the corner of S. Taylor and Lindell Boulevard, when he saw a man jump from the second floor of 4511 Lindell Boulevard. Aware of recent burglaries in the wealthy Central West End neighborhood, Girard approached the man. When the limping man saw Girard, he ran towards […]
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Tom Allen was born in Birmingham, England on April 23, 1840 but he became famous as a heavyweight bare knuckle prizefighter in America. Settling in St. Louis around 1867, Allen won the American Heavyweight Championship in 1873 and held the title until 1876. He returned to England for a year before returning to St. Louis for good in 1878. Back […]
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In May 1925, the lifeless body of Dr. William Dillon was found on a walking path. The divorcee was a prominent St. Louis physician, who lived hard and was a known lady’s man. St. Louis Police initially suspected a rival of Dillon’s shot the physically and socially powerful Dillon rather than fight him. However, suspicion eventually settled on Dillon’s 19-year-old […]
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On Tuesday, July 4, 1916, former St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond passed away after an illness of two years. Desmond was in Alexian Brothers Hospital from October 1915 until his death on Independence Day 1916. The 59-year-old Desmond left a 12-year-old son, William Desmond, Jr. Chief Desmond’s wife died several years before him. For 17 years from 1890 […]
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Johnny Reagan was an important fighter in the St. Louis boxing scene during the first decade of the 20th Century. Originally from Brooklyn, Reagan moved to St. Louis to train under Jack McKenna. McKenna based his operation out of St. Louis, where his fighter primarily fought at St. Louis’ West End Club. Reagan was a rising bantamweight at the time […]
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On August 11, 1896, a train arrived in St. Louis, Missouri around 7:30 a.m. Three figures exited the train. Two healthy looking police officers were escorting John D. “Jack” Shea, who killed St. Louis Police Officer Patrick Doran on November 7, 1881. The gaunt and sickly Shea was no longer the young thug, who executed Doran during a chase after […]
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