Massachusetts State Police Museum
Last Saturday, April 13, I finally visited the Massachusetts State Police Museum located down the street in Whitinsville, MA, which had received three previous mentions on my blog: during the 250th anniversary of the founding of Northbridge, MA; the National Park Service Ranger Walkabout “Wonders of Whitinsville”; and my Quick History Stops of Whitinsville from a few weeks ago. I received a personalized one-on-one tour from a retired state trooper and learned both the history of the police force along with its connections to other events in Massachusetts history.
At the entrance is a somber Wall of Remembrance dedicated to officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. A set tables with a plate emblazoned with the Massachusetts State Police logo reminds visitors of those who will not be coming home for dinner. The modern police force has its roots in the State Constabulary, founded in 1865 not long after the Civil War and the assassination of 16th United States President Abraham Lincoln. These early uniforms were little different than military uniforms worn by the Union army. The organization changed names in 1875 to become the State Detective Force and again in 1879 to become the District Police. Governor of Massachusetts, Calvin Coolidge, who would go on to become my favorite president of the United States, reformed the system in 1920 as a response to the 1919 Boston Police Strike the previous year. (1919 was a disastrous year for Boston, as the city also went through the bizarre and dead Great Molasses Flood.) The museum displays an original letter from Coolidge to a state representative, along with a ceremonial quill pen used to sign the act.
State police once rode regular routes on horseback, but in an era before cell phones, they were difficult to contact. In each town, a dedicated store had a plaque reading “Department of Public Safety # Division of State Police”, with the number of the division at the center of the sign. By hanging the sign in the window of the store, the designated officer would know to stop inside and call for information. Around this time, the state police derived a system for measuring cadets in the police academy for a custom-made dress uniform, complete with a green coat and leather boots. All garments are made in the United States to this day. The uniform changed to “French and Electric Blue” during the 1930s and 1940s. Unfortunately, a high ranking member of the Nazi party saw the uniform during an expo and appropriated the design for use in the Third Reich. Meanwhile, due to the Great Depression, poultry theft was on the rise. A rookie trooper was tasked with tattooing poultry for identification.
After the war, Norman Rockwell made a Massachusetts State Policeman a star by including him on The Saturday Evening Post cover “The Runaway” in 1958. (The scene was modeled after Joe’s Dinner, which I included during my Quick History Stops of Lee, MA, which I visited last July.) The museum has a recreation of the scene, allowing children to sit next to the mannequin of a policeman and have their picture taken. The model for the boy, now grown-up Ed Locke, visits the museum each December to autograph prints and have his picture taken with fans. On the wall near the recreated diner was a uniquely painted sign. Once belonging to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, it was (surreptitiously?) repainted for the Massachusetts State Police.
The museum contains a wide range of tools used by officers in their daily work. A worn riot helmet protected an officer during the Boston Busing Riots in the mid 1970s. As discussed during my review of Becoming US, the sudden order from a district judge to desegregate the Boston Public Schools led to adults in South Boston or “Southie” attacking school buses. State police guarded buses and remained inside schools during these riots. A more lighthearted artifact was a radar gun tested by a tuning fork. The vibrations of the sound allowed officers to calibrate the radar gun to 45 MPH.
A tour of any police museum would be remiss without the mention of the police dog. State troopers originally used bloodhounds for their superior scent following ability, but these dogs needed to be lifted over obstacles. The more nimble German Shepherd had too many genetic issues. The modern police dog is the Belgian Malinois with its combination of athleticism, sniffing ability, and strong bite. These dogs can even be trained by cyber units to detect flash drives and will sit beside their target object even if it is hidden in a wall. While the police car continues to be a common mode of travel — including a bright pink car for breast cancer awareness — modern officers use horses, motorcycles, and bicycles to patrol. The early Indian Motorcycles were dangerous to ride even for experienced officers, with a “suicide clutch” requiring riders to take their hand off the handles to change gears, but all troopers were required to ride them. Today, troopers are given a choice to be assigned to a motorcycle, and the vehicles are much safer. Finally, young adults interested in joining the police academy to become a trooper can get a head start through the Cadet Program where they train on the job.
I thoroughly enjoyed my mini adventure at the Massachusetts State Police Museum. While the museum is appropriately small and limited in scope, the tour connects the work of the state police to events throughout Massachusetts and United States history. My guide even had his own story about facing a terrorist group, United Freedom Front. The extensive gift shop boasted wide range of state police memorabilia. Admission was $5 for non-member adults, and $0 for everyone else. The museum is open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday and Saturday. The building is wheelchair accessible via a side entrance, and artifact cases are spaced to allow for easy navigation. Those interested in police or military history would greatly enjoy this experience.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 8/10
Accessibility: 8/10