Who was in charge of keeping Western streets clean?
Breht Rader
Ostrander, Ohio
Most of the time, local jail inmates could earn time on their sentence for cleaning the streets. Or, if the jail was empty, the town marshal or constable might hire a kid for a dime or quarter.
Most towns didn’t have a budget for street cleaning and it was a dirty job. You had horses, mules, dogs, cats and sometimes cows and chickens doing their business in the local thoroughfares. And when it rained, it was a real mess. Sanitation was a serious problem and the bigger the town, the bigger the problem.
Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian and vice president of the Wild West History Association. His latest book is Arizona Outlaws and Lawmen; The History Press, 2015. If you have a question, write: Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327 or email him at marshall.trimble@scottsdalecc.edu.
Related Articles
-
Did Jim Bowie have his Famous Knife at the Alamo?
-
How Far Apart Were Water Holes and Stations?
-
Was the Civil War Vintage LeMat Revolver Ever Modified to take Brass Cartridges?
