HERSHEY - The Pennsylvania State Police was founded 100 years ago as a result of increasingly violent disputes between management and labor that municipal police were unable to cope with.

The department was formed as an act of legislature, signed by Gov. Samuel Pennypacker on May 2, 1905.

"By 1900, the state found itself torn by bitter disputes between managers and the laborers they employed," a history of the department on the state police Web site said.

"Violence became common in the new communities that sprang up around the coal fields, iron mills, textile factories and railroad yards."

Before formation of the state police, the state created the Coal and Iron Police, "conferring police power upon whomever the owners selected."

The guards, who in many cases were "common gunmen" and "hoodlums," protected the owners' interests.

"Management had their own police so there was a lot of violence," said Lt. Rodney Manning, commander of community and special services at state police headquarters in Harrisburg. "There was no agency to handle all the violence."On May 15, 1902, a coal strike known as the "Great Anthracite Strike" erupted in violence and caused a nationwide shortage and increase in prices.The strike lasted several months, and was only resolved when President Theodore Roosevelt intervened and appointed an arbitration panel to resolve the dispute, Manning said."When Gov. Samuel Pennypacker took office, he created the Pennsylvania State Police to act as the neutral law enforcement agency," Manning said.Its force was limited to 228 troopers, divided into four troops, with Troop A in Greensburg, Troop B in Wilkes Barre, Troop C in Reading and Troop D in Punxsutawney.Troop D was relocated to Butler on Jan. 15, 1911, where it remains today, according to the Web site.

The troop locations were chosen where most of the trouble was occurring, Manning said.The first superintendent of the state police was John C. Groom.Today, there are more than 4,600 state troopers.A sad story associated with the state police in Butler is the murder of Cpl. Brady Paul, said Lt. Donald Carnahan, formerly of the Butler barracks, who compiled a presentation on the history of the Pennsylvania State Police."Brady Paul was with the Highway Patrol in 1929 in Lawrence County," Carnahan said. "There was a robbery in downtown Butler...a Bonnie and Clyde type couple. They were stopped by Cpl. Brady Paul and Patrolman Ernest Moore on Route 422."Paul and Moore were both shot, Paul fatally."(Paul's) last words were, 'Tell the boys I tried my best, I did my best,' " Carnahan said.During a public commemoration of the state police centennial celebration in Hershey coming up on April 30, a statue of a trooper, circa 1906, will be unveiled, Manning said.The statue is named "One Statie, One Riot," he said. "The origins of that legend trace back to the Mount Caramel Riots of 1906."

After a report of a riot stemming from a dispute at coal mines there, "one lone trooper rode into Mount Caramel," Manning said."He was approached by the mayor, who asked, 'Where are the troops?'"The trooper replied, 'You only report one incident, you only get one trooper.'"Thus was born the One Statie, One Riot legend. The statue is of a trooper of that era."The PSP Web site notes these highlights of the department's history:In 1907, Superintendent Groom ordered that only single men would be accepted as state police officers. Women weren't accepted until 1971.The first state police training school was in Pottsville, where Troop C was moved from its former location in Reading on June 1, 1909.In 1919, the force was increased to 415 officers. The same year, state police took on the duties of state fire marshal, and the first motorcycle patrols also began.Residents who had telephones were issued flags. When displayed, officers would stop and call their office for assignments.

In 1923, the State Highway Patrol was established. In 1935 it was merged with the state police, with the new department named the Pennsylvania Motor Police.The first drivers license tests were required in 1924.In 1927, regulations were issued that prohibited officers from getting married without the superintendent's permission.A crime laboratory division was established in 1932.A state police training school was established in Hershey in 1947.In 1940, a special patrol unit was established in Bedford to patrol the new Pennsylvania Turnpike.

In 1943, the name of the department was changed from the Pennsylvania Motor Police back to its original name, the Pennsylvania State Police.In 1946, radio systems replaced the "flag stops."On Sept. 1, 1961, state police began using radar to check the speed of motorists.On Oct. 1, 1963, married men were allowed to apply to become officers.On Oct. 1, 1971, the first woman was accepted as a cadet at the state police academy in Hershey. The first female troopers graduated July 7, 1972.State Police Aerial Reconnaissance and Enforcement was established Oct. 20, 1978, allowing troopers to check the speed of motorists with a stopwatch from helicopters.

Pennsylvania State Police memorabilia is on display in the lobby at the Butler barracks on New Castle Road.Commemorative items, figurines and many patches framed in cases are available for residents to view 24 hours a day.