Chicago May Have Been Home to First Female Cop in U.S.

By Sean Stillmaker in Miscellaneous on Sep 4, 2010 3:00PM

New research shows how this fact was lost and muddled through the pages of history. Sgt. Marie Owens started on the Chicago Police Department in 1891, making her the first female officer in the history of the U.S. The title was originally held by Portland, Oregon with their officer starting in1908 after stumping claims from Los Angeles that they were the first -- a woman joined their department in 1910.

Rick Barrett, a former federal agent and Beverly neighborhood native, spent three years and hundreds of hours gathering the research, the Tribune reported. In her 20s Owens moved from Canada with her husband, but he died shortly after of typhoid fever. Owens, an Irish Catholic, was left to raise five kids. In 1906 she told the Tribune, “I like to do police work. It gives me a chance to help women and children.” She retired after 32 years in the department and died at age 74.

Owens history started being erased in 1925 when a historian mixed her up with another woman. The historian wrote a book about policewomen and confused Owens as a patrolman’s widow. When Owens died the brief eight line death notice did not mention her police career. It was previously believed the first female officer in Chicago joined the force in 1913.