Hero: John Creghan

In memory of Officer John Creghan

At the age of 60, a 13-year police veteran, John "Brownie" Creghan was considered chief of the one-man police unit assigned to the Lieperville section of Ridley Township.

The married father of two died Aug. 23, 1923.

Among the theories was that he was shot "by one of a party of gunmen during a battle between factions following a fight, having its origins in a house of ill-repute on Maddock Street," the Chester Times reported. The .33-caliber bullet hit Creghan in the right breast.
Dubbed "A Midnight Tragedy on the Pike,"several hundred shots were said to have been exchanged between the rivals.

His territory was long considered more than a one-man job.

Thousands paid their last respects at his sister's home. Magistrate W.C. Henderson said, "Brownie did not know what fear was and demonstrated this on several occasions."

Before becoming the town's first paid officer, he was a barber and first-class mechanic known for his fondness of jokes.