Boothbay Harbor Police Department (BHPD) headquarters just got a memorial wall for the 12 police chiefs, from the first nightwatchman, Hiram A. Spofford, in 1896 to the current chief, Doug Snyder. 

The idea stemmed from a conversation Snyder had with Lieutenant Brendan Kane from Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department about the lack of knowledge many young officers have about the history of the communities they serve. For Snyder, it felt important to have these conversations about past chiefs and how they changed the landscape of law enforcement. 

“It's pride in your work. This community has been here for so long ... and (I enjoy) just understanding where we came from,” he said.  

Compiling the information was a seven-month process of BHPD Administrative Assistant Diane Joyal combing through town reports and obituaries and Officer Larry Brown finding old articles and photos from the Boothbay Register. Relatives also helped in the search, sometimes in unexpected places, such as the home of a relative of Chief Waldron Reed (1947-1949). Snyder was there on an emergency medical visit. Snyder recalled, the person was getting checked out by EMS and said to go up the stairs and check out the picture of him sitting on Reed’s lap.

Reed’s family ended up coming by the station to share photos and show off his revolver. Boothbay Harbor Town Office Administrative Assistant Sally Carroll provided Hiram A. Spofford's (1896-1919) nightstick. 

“That was the fun part, hearing the stories,” said Snyder. 

Also of interest, historical records showed the similarities between past and present problems, said Joyal. These include the type offenses encountered; difficulties with employee retention; and complaints about pay. 

Synder added, “Every chief probably has the same challenges of modernizing (policing) for their generation of workers.” 

BHPD plans to dedicate a second wall to a collage of historical photos, such as the department's first police cars and other notable occurrences.  

The compiled list of chiefs is below: 

Hiram A. Spofford, Nightwatchman (1896-1919) 

Pearly B. McPhee (1920-1940) 

Henry Koerber (1942-1946) 

Waldron Reed (1947-1949) 

Lyman Pinkham (1950-1951) 

Vaughn Fogg (1951-1953) 

Leighton Davis (1953 -1979) 

Duey Graham (1979-1981) 

Floyd McDunnah (1981-1999) 

Stephen Clark (1999-2005) 

Robert Hasch (2005-2022) 

Doug Synder (2023-present)