Private Eyes

In 1850, Allan Pinkerton, a Scottish immigrant and Chicago's first full-time detective, founds his own policing agency. The term "private eye" probably begins with the Pinkerton advertisement that shows an eye with the caption "We never sleep." Pinkerton's private detectives are hired by people to investigate personal matters such as infidelity, as well as companies looking to guard their profits. For example, trains often travel through areas without significant law enforcement capability. The private eyes offer a way to secure the trains and their routes, and they often help out during railroad strikes. Renowned for tracking and capturing fugitives, the men (and, after 1856, women) of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency enjoyed a celebrated reputation.

Two years after Pinkerton sets up his business, Henry Wells and William Fargo form a banking and transport company in California, which is in the grips of the Gold Rush. They soon discover that their stagecoaches, loaded with millions in gold dust, are prime targets for outlaws. To combat this threat, Wells Fargo & Co. establishes its own security force, with armed men to accompany cargo secured in safes. Another division of their private police force pursues criminals in the event of a theft.

The great train robbery / Thomas A. Edison, Inc. producer, Edwin S. Porter.1903. Click here to see the film (requires quicktime)