Colonel Bill Turner: Wheeling’s First Black Police Officer
The Ohio County Public Library Archives houses a brittle, sepia toned, photograph of a well-dressed, older African American gentleman relaxing in a chair and reading a book. Written on the back in pencil are the words “William ‘Bill’ Turner. Policeman in Wheeling. 10th and Market Streets.”
The photograph, and its inscription, pose an interesting question: how did a black man become a city police officer in turn-of-the-century, segregated Wheeling — a town that wouldn’t elect a black man to its city council until 1970? Read More