This was the Comstock, Honest!

C. LXII Yearzago, Keeper of the Tribal Knowledge

 This Was the Comstock,   Honest!

 #7  HISTORIC LAWMEN OF VIRGINIA CITY

C.L. Yearzago, local historian guy

 In the very early days of the 1860s Comstock law enforcement took two basic forms;  Government law enforcement and vigilantes.  Gold Hill generally had a Marshall for law enforcement while Virginia City had a formal Police Department with a Chief of Police.  The Chief had several officers or policemen.  There were usually one or two policemen assigned to each of the Wards or political subdivisions of the City.  It is only the County as a whole that has a Sheriff and Deputies.  That system did not come along until near the turn of the century.

Much of the justice administered in the early times was a process of providing ones own style of quick, simple, efficient and very often deadly enforcement of the laws.  It was not uncommon in Virginia City for the local policement to either not have a gun or carry it concealed.  The demand for local police on the Comstock did not really emerge until the population reached about a thousand. Virginia City’s first Chief of Police was appointed just before statehood in 1864.  That was Charles Cook till 1866.  Then W.S. Edwards took over for the 1866-68 term.  The position was appointed and supervised by the Aldermen of Virginia City.  Edwards built himself a sizeable force and paid them $215.00 per month which was a lot of money for that time.  It was not until 1886 that an ordinance document was drafted and passed to stipulate the duty of the Chief and which laws to enforce.

 Gold Hill was organized as a town in May 1863 and appointed Samuel Arnold as the first Marshall for the 1863-65 term.  Marshall was also an appointed position.

 Their primary duties consisted of arresting those formal drunk or disorderly, sleeping on the street, fighting in public or escorting people home from their businesses.  Nevada provided for Jails in 1861 by State law.  It was the County Commissioners duty to maintain and inspect the Jail.

 The nature of Virginia City as a relatively bawdy and wild community made the duties of a Policeman or Marshall often quite dangerous.  At one point in time Virginia City had a higher annual homicide rate than did San Francisco.  Most of those killings took place in saloons, dark alleys and the lesser quality establishments of the community.  Several Policemen were killed during these bouts of violence.  Alcohol was the primary instigator of these violent confrontations.  Often times the local Police Department only had one gun to pass from officer to officer.  Officers often secreted themselves from where these violent confrontations took place to avoid the danger factor.  Juries were notoriously lax, debauched or openly corruptible which removed a lot of the motivation from the local Police or Marshall from doing their assigned duties.  The early policemen in Virginia City were generally honest, honorable and efficient individuals.  Very often, however, they were local toughs as they could command the necessary respect and often the only volunteer willing to undertake the work.