Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from 17th Precinct (The Bowery), New York City Police Blotter, must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: 17th Precinct (The Bowery), New York City Police Blotter, Ms2012-043, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased by Special Collections in February 2012.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the 17th Precinct (The Bowery), New York City Police Blotter was completed in September 2012.

Historical note

The 17th Precinct is located in midtown Manhattan and comprised of the following communities: Sutton Area, Beekman Place, Kipps Bay, Turtle Bay, Murray Hill, Manhattan East and the Rose Hill Community. The Precinct serves three main constituents - residential, business and diplomatic communities.

According to the NYPD website, on September 7, 1877, the 17th precinct started undergoing many name changes and a division when the 19th precinct was established at 163 East 51st Street. By January 1, 1887 the station house was renamed the 23rd precinct, followed by another name change to the 24th precinct on May 1, 1898. Then, it became the 29th precinct on January 1, 1908, and the 10th precinct by July 18, 1924. Finally, on July 3, 1929, the station house was named the 17th precinct again.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of a police blotter from the 17th Precinct (also known as the Bowery) in New York City, spanning April 27 through July 22, 1861. Information in the blotter includes police officers on duty and commanding officers for each day, civil and criminal offenses, lost and returned children, deserters, inmates, and accidents. Most entries record the date and time of the arrest, the offender's name, address, age, place of birth, occupation, marital status, whether the offender can read or write, and a brief description of the charges. Civil and criminal offenses include, but are not limited to, assault, disorderly conduct, theft, intoxication, selling obscene books, cross-dressing, homicide, begging, violating Sunday law, improper driving, interfering with officers, and passing counterfeit money.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• New York (N.Y.) -- History -- 1775-1865
• New York (State) -- History -- 1775-1865
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865