Official Police Reports and Photographic Record of the 1954 Pennsylvania Railroad Labor Disturbance

Item Details

An original police archive documenting the 1954 labor riot in Akron, Ohio, involving Pennsylvania Railroad workers and city authorities. The collection includes 3 typed police reports on yellow and onionskin paper, internal memoranda, and a set of 8 mugshot photographs, each labeled on the reverse with the individual’s name.

The reports, dated April 1–May 5, 1954, were prepared by Captains Stephen J. McGowan and T.P. Lynett of the City of Akron Police Department. They describe a clash between striking or picketing railroad workers and law enforcement after a Pennsylvania Railroad freight engine was halted near High Street and Kirkwood Avenue. Officers arriving at the scene found the tracks blocked by pickets who refused to disperse. Following several warnings and the formal reading of a “riot proclamation,” arrests were made under charges of inciting a riot, obstructing police officers, and failure to comply with lawful orders.

The accused men—identified in the accompanying photographs as Charles Russell Church Jr., Joseph Freeman Ayers, Ralph Margo, Elwood Francis Shaw, Marsee Morse Clinton, Leonard Tildon De Long, Dean Lewis, and William James Wise—were detained, booked, and photographed at the Akron city jail. A single additional photograph shows confiscated wooden clubs, presumably used or carried during the disturbance.

Condition:

Overall very good. Reports show expected toning, creases, and edge wear consistent with handling. Mugshots are crisp gelatin silver prints with only minor surface curling. All pieces retain strong legibility and contrast.

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