City of Eugene history

Eugene City was founded in 1853.

On October 17, 1862, Eugene was incorporated.

1863 - The City hired its first marshal, C.H. Fox, who began patrolling Eugene as the first member of what would become the Eugene Police Department.

The first post office in the region was built there the same year; Eugene was incorporated in 1864.

The arrival of the Oregon and California (now Southern Pacific) Railroad in 1871 stimulated Eugene’s growth as an agricultural and lumber centre.

A major influence on the city as a cultural and education center began in 1872, when the University of Oregon was founded.

The University of Oregon was established in Eugene in 1876.

767 Willamette Street- In 1884 The Baker Building was Eugene’s original place for social gatherings and is also the only intact 19th century building in downtown.

1892 - Bonds are signed by Sheriff J.E. Noland to build a jail on the park blocks at

1897 - In April, Joseph S. Stiles was appointed chief of police by Mayor William Kuykendall.

By 1900, the City had purchased four hose carts and constructed four hose stations: at 8th Avenue and Park Street, on Lawrence Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, on East 11th Avenue between Patterson and Ferry Streets, and at 14th Avenue and Columbia Street.

Built in 1903 and originally known as the Gross Hotel, the building now houses local retail shops.

In 1905, the City purchased two horses, Pete and Jerry, to pull one the carts, and this proved so successful that other horses were soon added to the department’s stable.

1908 - Under a "local option" provision for selling alcohol, Eugene voted to go "dry". Springfield voted itself "wet".

1916 - There wasn’t much traffic on Willamette Street in 1916, but speeding - as it is today - was a problem.

1920 - The department was having troubles on Skinner Butte.

1010 Willamette Street- The McDonald Theater, built in 1925, hosted everything from travelling vaudeville shows to major theater productions.

August 29, 1930 - Eugene Police Officer Oscar Duley, was killed in a Marcola liquor raid by a bootlegger names Ray Sutherland while assisting the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.

June 3, 1934 - Officer Jesse Jennings Jackson was a passenger in a patrol car that was pursuing a speeding vehicle.

520 Willamette Street- Located at the corner of 5th & Willamette Street, the main Post Office for the City of Eugene was built in 1938 with an art-deco façade.

1941 - The department had only one patrol car equipped with a one-way radio and officers could receive, but not return calls.

In 1948, Eugene voters approved a bond levy to purchase a new hydraulic aerial ladder truck, build and staff two new substations, expand the fire alarm call-box system, and increase the number of fire hydrants available in the city.

1950 - Police stopped handling animal control—this function was turned over to the Humane Society.

1951 - In November, the new Municipal Jail opened at 5th and Olive; staffed by Police Department personnel.

1953 - The City entered into an agreement with Lane County to house short-term County prisoners at the Municipal Jail; this decision doubled the jail population.

1954 - The department first began using radar for traffic control in July.

1955 - The first full-time officer was assigned exclusively to the Training Unit.

1956 - The department adopted a 40-hour work week.

In 1957, following a lengthy community debate, the firefighter work week was reduced from 72 to 56 hours.

1958 - The Skipworth Juvenile Home opened and juveniles were no longer held at the Municipal Jail.

FEU provides high quality and timely forensic processing for EPD cases as well as federal agencies and has performed forensics since at least 1959.

The department hired its first "meter maids" in July (Helen Coverdell & Penny Anderson). They began using motorized scooters to make their rounds in 1960.

1961 - Jail remodeling and expansion began to relieve overcrowding.

1962 - The Detective Division, the Crime Laboratory, and the Identification Bureau were combined into a single Criminal Investigations Division to streamline investigation.

She was hiding in a house in the 3600 block of Willamette Street. (In 1965 Carl C. Bowles was convicted of killing Deputy Sheriff Carlton Smith.

1966 - The department began operation of a new telephone PBX separate from the City Hall switchboard to handle an increasing load of calls.

Eugene's population expanded steadily throughout the first half of the twentieth century, reaching nearly 51,000 people in 1967.

The team investigated a drag racing crash at 13th and Willamette in December 1969, in which the driver was subsequently convicted of negligent homicide.

Eugene Saturday Market- Located in the Park blocks along 8th Street and was the first Saturday Market in the United States Started in 1970.

1971 - White police cars were replaced with blue and white cars beginning in February.

1975 - The department formed a "bike" squad consisting of a patrol car and two motorcycles, to try and decrease the number of car-bicycle crashes.

1977 - Police officers were still expected to purchase their own weapons and equipment, such as bullet-proof vests, though uniforms were provided.

1980 - Methamphetamine cases begin to make their appearance in Eugene in the early 1980s and rose steadily throughout the decade.

1985 - The Police and Fire Departments were administratively consolidated into a single Department of Public Safety in early October by City manager Mike Gleason.

1986 - The Cops in Schools program was initiated in September, Officers were assigned to two schools – South Eugene and Churchill High Schools, with plans to eventually expand the program to all area high schools.

1988 - On January 1, the merged department formerly known as Eugene Police, Fire & Emergency Services, officially became the Department of Public Safety.

1990 - In the first few months of the year, reports of hate crimes increase by 50% over the previous year in Oregon.

1992 - A handful of patrol cars are outfitted with computers in August with the intention of eventually installing computers in all cars.

Meanwhile, in 1995, Eugene voters again demonstrated their support for fire services by passing a fire redeployment bond authorizing construction of two new fire stations and the current headquarters and training complex at 2nd Avenue and Chambers Street.

1997 - The Department of Public Safety is deconsolidated in October, recreating independent Police and Fire Departments.

1999 - In March, the Eugene Regional Police Academy opens.

2000 - On September 11, 2000, Central Lane 911’s building was built and dedicated in a public ceremony.

Reverend McKinnie’s death in 2001 prompted a fellow officer and one-time partner, Wayne Irvin, to write fond memories of the soft-spoken officer.

In 2002, the decision was made to expand City Fire & EMS services into the Santa Clara area, which was gradually incorporating into the City.

The community conference room at Eugene’s new Downtown Fire Station, which was constructed in 2005, was named the Pete & Jerry Room in honor of the department’s first pair of horses.

2006 - The Police Auditor was hired and began work in Eugene in October 2006, almost a year after the Charter Amendment was enacted by the City Council empowering the formation of the Independent Police Auditor.

2008 - After months of discussion and input from the public, groups, individuals, officers, the ACLU, as well as after review of other policies and experiences from around the United States the Police Department acquired 40 Tasers for a pilot project and a new policy was put into place in January.

In 2009, while struggling with budget difficulties but recognizing future opportunities, the two departments jointly commissioned a study of potential further cooperation.

2010 - The change is made to Data Led Policing (DLP), and new software is purchased to track and predict crime trends.

EPD Officer Chris Kilcullen was fatally shot at approximately 4:30 p.m. during a traffic stop on I-105 and 52nd Street in Springfield, Oregon on Friday, April 22, 2011.

July 1, 2012, EPD begins managing Animal Services.

2013 - January 2013 - Downtown Public Safety Station Opens at 960 Olive.

EPD began a pilot-project team, the Street Crimes Team, to serve from June 1 through September 30, 2014.

Starting in July 2015, EPD’s Traffic Enforcement Unit expanded their role in prevention and response to traffic crashes by joining patrol officers in investigation of those incidents.

2016 - 911 became accredited, becoming the third Public Safety Answering Point in Oregon to achieve OAA Accreditation on January 31, 2016.