History of Bartow Police Department

Fire Police StationIn 1882, when the citizens saw a need for better legal protection, the small horse and buggy town of Bartow became incorporated, and the first Town Marshal was elected. Marshal C.C. Gresham could hardly have foreseen the growth that was to encompass the department in the coming century.

Marshal Gresham's biggest responsibility in the 1880s was to stop drunken brawls from occurring in the street. In 1886, Bartow Town Marshal Campbell became the first law enforcement official in Polk County killed in the line of duty. He was shot while attempting to arrest two drunken brothers who were creating a disturbance. The guilty brothers were eventually arrested by the other officers but were removed from the jail by an angry mob and hung.

Bartow did not have a police station until the 1930s, when a tiny concrete building was erected at the curbside on Central Avenue and Main St. (pictured on the right) Previously, the "station" consisted of a telephone bolted to an oak tree at that same location. Someone walking by would answer the phone and then attempt to find the Marshal and alert him about the emergency.

Following World War II, police headquarters moved into the old fire station, and later to the building located at 260 E Church Street That building, which later became the Church Service Center, was destroyed by fire in 2009.

In 1966, under the leadership of Chief of Police Lewis Cromartie, a state-of-the-art facility was built to house both the police and fire departments was completed. The departments still continue to operate in that same building.

The Bartow Police Department has evolved over the years from a one-man, 15-hour-a-day department into a modern agency with a staff of 40 plus sworn and 25 plus non-sworn personnel who provide Law Enforcement services 24/7 to the citizens of Bartow.

Police Department Old Group PhotoBartow Police Chiefs