Willamsburg police looking for their roots

Who was the first Williamsburg police officer? When was the department founded? When was the first squad car purchased?
These are just some of the questions a group of Williamsburg police officers are trying to answer, and they say they need the public’s help to figure out the answers to these questions.
Williamsburg Police Officer Bobby Freeman said he just recently started researching the matter, and hopes to use the information to make a memorial honoring all Williamsburg officers when he and Officer Jason Caddell and Sgt. Wayne Bird finish conducting their research.
“We are trying to get all the names of all officers, who were policemen in Williamsburg. We are trying to find out who was the first police officer, and when the department was established,” Freeman said. “Any kind of pictures or information on this would be appreciated.”
So far Freeman has tracked down the names of 52 current or former officers, with the oldest officer on the list going back to the 1950s.
He said the public’s assistance is needed because early records are sparse.
“When city hall burnt, most of those records were destroyed. The city is the only one, which really kept records of that,” Caddell said.
“The problem we have run into is that most of this information isn’t written down anywhere. It is going to be basically whose grandfather told them they were a police officer and word of mouth.”
Officials said other records were destroyed during various floods in town over the years, and still more records were damaged after being stored, when vandals struck the old Lane Theater. The city owned the theater at one point, and used it for excess storage.
Officers speculate that the police department was probably founded in the 1920s or 1930s, but say they don’t know for certain.
Through research, they did discover that the first fire truck was purchased in 1918, and stored at the city garage for $15 per month.
Freeman said he’s not sure exactly what kind of memorial it will be yet, but that it will probably be placed either inside or outside of Williamsburg City Hall.
“I want to get everybody’s opinion, and see exactly what we want to do,” he said.
Freeman said he plans to share the research with the Whitley County Historical and Genealogical Society and the Whitley County Public Library, which are both assisting with the project.
Anyone having information on past officers, or old photographs that the department could use is asked to contact either Freeman or Caddell at the Williamsburg Police Department at 549-6038.