February 28, 1861: Birth of Duluth Police Chief Chauncy Troyer

On this day in 1861, future Duluth Police Chief Chauncy Troyer was born in Goshen, Indiana. He first came to Duluth in 1888 to work as a foreman on the Northern Pacific docks. Three years later he was walking a beat as a DPD patrolman. In 1896 he made detective and in 1902 took over the entire department. He served as chief until May 1, 1915, when he resigned to accept a position as police chief of Fargo, North Dakota. When the U.S. entered the war in Europe two years later, Troyer returned to the Zenith City to “take charge of the men who were guarding the docks in the Duluth harbor; he was later made a local agent in the United States Secret Service.” After the war he became a deputy St. Louis County sheriff. Troyer died in 1919. He had recently undergone surgery for a stomach ulcer and seemed to have been healing just fine. In fact, he was preparing to be discharged from St. Mary’s Hospital when he died. Troyer’s physician blamed his death on “an embolus which affected the heart.” He was just 58 years old. The Duluth News Tribune called him “Wholly fearless, a loyal American, a staunch friend, an able official and a man who sanely balanced mercy with justice…. He has never had his equal in this county as a suppressor of crime…. He always worked ‘on the square’ and we know of no one, even those serving time because of his skill, who bears him a grudge, while those who worked with him, who were his associates and close friends do not try to repress their tears for Chauncy H. Troyer.”

Chauncy Troyer (Image: Zenith City Press)