Captain Swan Walton was one of the pioneering members of the police force on the west side of the Mississippi in Minneapolis. He was born on December 20, 1840 in Kristianstad where he attended school until the age of 15. He worked in Sweden and Denmark as a flour miller before emigrating from Denmark to Baltimore on October 2, 1860.
He moved to Minneapolis on August 1, 1868 where he worked at various jobs. On May 1, 1870, he was appointed a Patrolman by Mayor A.E. Ames and became the sixth member of the Minneapolis Police Department. In Captain Walton’s early days of service, the Department had a day watch and a night watch with three Patrolmen assigned to each.
In 1871, Captain Walton left the Department to start a grocery business in Minneapolis called Vanstrum and Walton.
In 1878, he rejoined the department which had grown in its numbers to sixteen officers. Upon his return, he served as one of the very first officers of the Mounted Force directly appointed by Mayor A.E. Ames. He served in the Fifth Precinct as Captain, stepping down to Lieutenant of his own volition and then was appointed Captain of the Third Precinct in 1899 where he served until the end of his days.
Captain Walton was married to Anna C. Anderson of Gothenberg, Sweden on January 7, 1869. They had five children together and lived at 1316 7th Street South.
Captain Walton died on January 20, 1903 and is buried at Lakewood Cemetery.
Photograph of Swan Walton from “History of the Police and Fire Departments of the Twin Cities: Their Origin in Early Village Days and Progress to 1900” (published in 1899)