Among the modern manuscript collections found in the Special Collections department are the records from the Wood Detective Agency. Founded in 1879, by James Rodney Wood, Sr., it was the first private detective agency in New England. Before founding the agency, Wood served as a member of the Boston police. Wood wrote, “In February, 1865, I was appointed as a member of the Boston police force by Frederick W. Lincoln, Mayor, and was assigned to Station One in Hanover Street.” He would remain connected with this station for five years.

Wood was tasked with patrolling North Street (previously Ann Street), which at the time he described as “the rendezvous of the sailors and the bad home element of Boston.” North Street was home to thirteen dance halls, about 25 “bar-rooms,” and “thirty to fifty houses of ill-fame.” Among the thieves and sailors that frequented the street were also Harvard College students, who according to Wood, didn’t always stay out of trouble.

James Rodney Wood, Sr., Wood Detective Agency Records, Harvard Law School Library, Box 1, Folder 1

Post contributed by:
Lesley Schoenfeld
Special Collections Public Services and Collections Coordinator