Series II: Police Board of Commissioners, 1888-1910

The papers in the Sherlock Swann collection span over 30 years, from 1888 to 1924. The materials consist of official reports, letters, notes, drafts, pamphlets, official correspondence newspaper clippings, and plats and maps relating to his positions as Head of the Burnt District Commission, President of the Board of Police Commissioners and Chairman of the Commission on Traffic. These materials have been arranged within the framework of three series by job titles held by Swann (discussed in more detail in the series description).

The bulk of the material centers on Sherlock Swann (1866-1935) and consists of records saved from his positions as head of the Burnt District Commission (1904-1907), President of the Board of Police Commissioners (1908-1910) and his work with the Traffic Commission, which seems to have preceded as well as followed his position as Postmaster of Baltimore. There are no materials relating to his position as Postmaster of Baltimore (1913-1921). The majority of this material spans the years 1904 - 1923. A weakness of this collection is the incomplete yet apportioned manner with which the materials relating to Swann’s various positions were included. This has left a relatively small gap between the Burnt District Commission materials and the Board of Police Commission materials yet a gulf between the Postmaster and Traffic Commissioner positions.

Materials within the files were left in the original order they were found except in very few instances where a better arrangement presented itself. The container list should be consulted in any research inquiry, as the archivist has provided folder titles that are descriptive but may not encompass the entirety of these materials.

The papers in this collection will be of value to the researcher interested in the Baltimore Fire of 1904, Baltimore City planning and redevelopment, the Baltimore City Police Department, traffic and automobile law and local politicians of Baltimore in the early Twentieth century.