Allan Pinkerton
(Aug. 25, 1819–July 1, 1884)

One of America’s first undercover agents, Civil War scout and guardian of President Lincoln. Founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, providing detective services, capturing train robbers and counterfeiters. The agency had the world’s largest collection of mug shots and a criminal database. The agency’s logo, the All-Seeing Eye, inspired the term “Private Eye.” Near Pinkerton’s monument are memorials to two agents who helped foil an assassination attempt at Lincoln’s inauguration, Kate Warne (described by Pinkerton as America’s first female detective) and Timothy Webster (later hanged by the Confederacy as a spy).

photo and text by Joe Collier