William L. Higgins
(1812 – 1908)
Marshal - June 4, 1851 to April 5, 1853
Second term March 15, 1854 to June 30, 1854
Third term August 3, 1856 to April 6, 1858
(1812 – 1908)
Marshal - June 4, 1851 to April 5, 1853
Second term March 15, 1854 to June 30, 1854
Third term August 3, 1856 to April 6, 1858
William Higgins first came to Portland in 1843 as a member of the crew on Captain John Couch’s second voyage to the Columbia. He visited the site where Portland would be in 1843, when there was only one permanent resident. A sailor, originally from Rhode Island, Higgins spent eight years sailing the Pacific and Atlantic oceans before settling in Portland in 1850. Higgins, who worked as a carpenter and building contractor, led in balloting to be the first city Marshal before Hiram Wilbur was elected in a compromise. When Wilbur’s brief tenure ended Higgins was appointed to fill the vacancy and then won re-appointment the next year.
As Marshal, Higgins served as city tax collector and health officer, being paid at a piece rate for jobs performed. In September, 1851 the state legislature enacted a criminal code that departed from the Iowa code that had been in force in the territory since 1843. This was the first time that Oregon had criminal laws that were tailored to the reality of crime in the state. The new code increased the city Marshal’s responsibilities. Higgins investigated the Bradbury murder on Sauvie’s Island in 1851. The island was not within Portland’s jurisdiction and Higgins’s arrest of the killer, Creed Turner, was the first extension of the city’s authority. Marshal Higgins served without deputies and many of the city’s businesses hired private guards to watch over their businesses at night.
Higgins served as Marshal until 1853 and a second term from 1856 until 1858. He also served a brief term in 1854 when the Democrats took control of the city government, but he left office after only three months. Later he served one term on the City Council in 1861. After his public service he ran a construction business for decades building hundreds of homes and public buildings, including the city’s first Post Office and second City Jail. In 1908, the year he died, he was recognized as the city’s oldest living pioneer by the Oregonian. The quarter page article on Higgins’ life contained a few factual errors; the most interesting was “Captain Higgins…has never held public office.”
As Marshal, Higgins served as city tax collector and health officer, being paid at a piece rate for jobs performed. In September, 1851 the state legislature enacted a criminal code that departed from the Iowa code that had been in force in the territory since 1843. This was the first time that Oregon had criminal laws that were tailored to the reality of crime in the state. The new code increased the city Marshal’s responsibilities. Higgins investigated the Bradbury murder on Sauvie’s Island in 1851. The island was not within Portland’s jurisdiction and Higgins’s arrest of the killer, Creed Turner, was the first extension of the city’s authority. Marshal Higgins served without deputies and many of the city’s businesses hired private guards to watch over their businesses at night.
Higgins served as Marshal until 1853 and a second term from 1856 until 1858. He also served a brief term in 1854 when the Democrats took control of the city government, but he left office after only three months. Later he served one term on the City Council in 1861. After his public service he ran a construction business for decades building hundreds of homes and public buildings, including the city’s first Post Office and second City Jail. In 1908, the year he died, he was recognized as the city’s oldest living pioneer by the Oregonian. The quarter page article on Higgins’ life contained a few factual errors; the most interesting was “Captain Higgins…has never held public office.”