History of Community Police Departments

MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA: The Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society will host
its monthly Sunday Afternoon Lecture, “History of Community Police Departments” with
Ron Stowe, on Sunday, July 21, 2024, 3:00 P.M., at the Historic Henry County
Courthouse.
Stowe will discuss the history of the three police departments that no longer exist in
Henry County. All three of the police departments started in the 1920s with the growth
of the furniture and textile industry in the area and the mill towns that grew around them.
Each of the companies funded their individual police departments, although the county
also contributed. The Stanleytown Police Department closed in June 1980 when the
business climate significantly changed. Bassett Police Department began to downsize
in the mid- to late 1980s and eventually closed. The Fieldale Police Department kept
one officer into the 1990s before it closed.
The son of the Stanleytown Police Department’s last Chief of Police, Ron Stowe grew
up in Stanleytown and graduated from Bassett High School. He attended Danville
Community College and then followed in the footsteps of his father, Melvin Stowe, by
joining the Henry County Sheriff’s Office in 1975. In 1980, he moved to High Point,
North Carolina, where he continued working in law enforcement at the High Point Police
Department and retired as a captain.
Admission to the lecture is free, made possible by corporate sponsors, Carter Bank &
Trust and The Lester Group. The Historic Henry County Courthouse is fully
handicapped accessible. The Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Museum will be open
following the presentation.