The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 135

Tills Place, This Time Local history Standing in front of Akron's first motorized police wagon in 1899 are (from left) its Inventor, Frank Fowler Loomis, Fire Chief B.F. Manderbach, Dr. E.S. Underwood, City Commissioner Albert Paige, City Solicitor Osborn Esgate and Clerk of Council Charles Isbell. Police Chief H.H.

Harrison is at the wheel. i I. -1 A 1 he Donee wagon to wonder if the new police vehicle might actually encourage disorderly conduct by people eager to go for a ride. The wagon was still relatively new when an angry mob nearly destroyed it during Akron's infamous riot of Aug. 22, 1900.

A crowd dynamited City Hall and burned down Akron City Jail after failing to lynch a prisoner accused of assaulting a child. Some of the vigilantes hijacked the police wagon, took it for a joy ride and then dumped it into the Ohio Erie Canal. The patrol vehicle was fished out of the canal the next day. The automobile had completed 226 police runs by 1901, traveling nearly 200 miles. It served Akron for six years, but met a fate that was terribly unfitting for such a historic vehicle.

In 1905, the Akron City Council reportedly sold the wagon for $25 as junk. You can learn more about the patrol wagon and local police history at the Akron Police Museum in the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center, 217 S. High Akron. The museum features police displays, old photographs, confiscated weapons, miscellaneous equipment and more.

Its hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 pan. weekdays. Admission is free.Q Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor.

He can be reached at 330-996-3769 or send e-mail to mjpricethebeaconjournal.com. kron's motorized police wagon was a lean, mean, crime-fighting machine. The electric automobile traveled only 16 mph and had to be recharged every 30 miles, but it was the pride of the Akron Street. "The new patrol wagon attracted great attention from the moment it left the engine house until it was returned," the Akron Beacon Journal reported the next day. "Mr.

Loomis applied a sufficient amount of power to dash by swiftly moving streetcars with perfect ease. The steering apparatus worked easily. No trouble was experienced in climbing hills and darting around through the streets." The police wagon had seating capacity for a dozen prisoners, but its first official assignment in December was fairly routine. Patrolman John Durkin was assigned to pick up an intoxicated man at Main mMarkJ.Price work. Loomis designed a battery-powered vehicle that operated with two motors built by his brother, C.H.

Loomis, and Julius Olson. The Collins Buggy Works constructed the vehicle's body, which resembled a typical horse-drawn wagon. The Selle Gear Co. provided the vehicle's gears. The wagon was assembled over several months in the Central Engine House of the fire department.

It was equipped with electric lights, gongs and a stretcher so that the vehicle could double as an ambulance if needed. As it turned out, Commissioner Paige was wrong about the savings to the city. The new vehicle cost $2,400 to build $2,000 more than a team of horses but Paige correctly predicted that automobiles were the way of the future. After six months of labor, Frank Loomis rolled his creation out of the engine house on Nov. 24, 1899.

Crowds gathered as he took the vehicle for a test run on High Street, West Exchange and Main Police Department in 1899. Planning began 100 years ago this month on the vehicle that was destined to become the first automobile patrol wagon in the world. It was state-of-the-art transportation for the new police department. Although Akron had a population of nearly 42,000 and was approaching its 75th anniversary, the city didn't organize a police department until 1898. Akron City Commissioner Albert Paige had theorized it would be cheaper to build an automobile than to continue to buy $400 teams of horses and pay for their food.

Officials turned the project over to city electrician Frank Fowler Loomis, a mechanical engineer for the Akron Fire Department, who quickly went to 50 OFF All Jewelry in Clearance Display Case and Exchange streets. The arrested man sat regally in the chariot as it carried him off to jail, the newspaper reported. Some began TAYU3R MADE WMLRY Custom Designed Quality 2192 Wedgrwood Drive, Suite Akron 44312 Repairs Done On Premie 733-8000 wumOhio.com PAGE 15 SUNDAY BEACON MAGAZINE June 20, 1999.