PA State Archives - MG-360 - Scope and Content Note - PA State Police Memorabilia Collection

PA State Archives Hours, Directions, & Fees Research Topics Online Catalog Land Records

Manuscript Group 360
PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE MEMORABILIA COLLECTION
1910-1920
2.2 cubic feet

The Department of State Police was created in 1905 to help preserve law and order throughout the Commonwealth and to cooperate with and assist local law-enforcement officers in the apprehension of criminals. It was the first uniformed police organization of its kind in the United States. The original complement was limited by law to only 228 men to patrol the 45,000 square miles of Pennsylvania. The State Highway Patrol in the Department of Revenue, which had originally been established in the Department of Highways in 1923 to enforce motor vehicle laws, was merged with the Department in 1937 to become the Pennsylvania Motor Police. The name of the agency was changed to Pennsylvania State Police in 1943. In keeping with their responsibility to assist local police departments, the State Police administer professional training programs for municipal police, and provide direct assistance to State law enforcement agencies wishing to utilize the technical, scientific and data resources of the Department. They have jurisdiction in all political subdivisions in the state.

Contains memorabilia associated with the Pennsylvania State Police, 1905-present, donated by various individuals, including:

The Phillip Doddridge scrapbooks, 1910-1920, 2 volumes comprised of newclippings, postcards and photographs of the activities of Troop A, Greensburg.
The Bernice Ayers Collection including twelve black and white 2 3/4 x 4 1/2 prints and negatives, 1935, of the State Police Rodeo at York and a silk mill strike in Lancaster; and six black and white 2 3/4 x 4 1/2 prints and negatives of a parade, ca. 1930, Harrisburg.
The Ray Reck Collection including thirteen 2 3/4 x 4 1/2 black and white prints, 1937-1939, including the Battle of Gettysburg, Reunion at Gettysburg, individual and group photos featuring patrol cars, uniforms, and the Training Center Building at Harrisburg; newsclippings; Reck's diploma and graduation bulletin from the State Highway Patrol Training School, 1957; and correspondence regarding permission to be married, 1939.
The Captain Lawrence L. Priar, State Fire Marshall Collection including Troop E Rodeo Bulletin, ca. 1930, black and white photographs, 1908-1960, (not inclusive) of various sizes and subjects covering police laboratories; group photos, 1929; Troop B with President Theodore Roosevelt, 1908; lectures on fire protection, ca. 1960, 11 items; a published Pennsylvania Police history: Seventy-five years of Service, 1905-1980, and an article by Priar, Searching and Disarming Criminals, 1954.
Miscellaneous items include a motion picture film, Highway Patrolman, 16mm, and undated photographs in various sizes of State Police officers, 6 items.
Gift of various donors, 1983-1987.

State Police Superintendent Wilheim [?] Plaque, undated. (1 box) {#360m.1}
Pennsylvania State Police Academy Musical Ride Photograph, 1979. (1 drawer) {#360m.2}
Fingerprint Patterns Poster, undated. (1 drawer) {#360m.3}
William W. Scranton Portrait Photograph, undated. (1 drawer) {#360m.4}
Portrait Photograph, undated. (1 drawer) {#360m.5}
Phillip Doddridge Scrapbooks, 1910-1920. (2 volumes) {#360m.6}
Ray L. Reck Collection, 1934-1939. (1 box) {#360m.7}
Lawrence L. Priar Collection, 1908-1980, undated. (6 folders) {#360m.8}
10th Anniversary of the PA Highway Patrol Silent Motion Picture Film, 1933. (1 reel) {#360m.9}
Trooper Barry Carr Collection, 1917-1970. (1 box, 12 folders, 11 items) {#360m.9}
Bernice Ayers Collection, ca. 1930's. (1 folder) {#360m.10}
Photographs, State Troopers Killed in the Line of Duty, ca. 1925. (6 folders) {#360m.11}

The container listings for this Manuscript Group are available for viewing and word-searching in PDF format: [Holdings]

PA State Archives Hours, Directions, & Fees Research Topics Online Catalog Land Records