Pinkerton (detective agency)

Pinkerton
Company type	Division
Industry	Private security, Investigations
Founded	1 January 1850; 176 years ago in Chicago, United States
Founder	Allan Pinkerton, Edward Rucker
Headquarters	Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Security management, risk assessment, investigative services, background screening, protective details, crisis response, intelligence solutions
Parent	Securitas AB

Pinkerton is a U.S.-based private security and investigative firm established circa 1850 in Chicago by Allan Pinkerton, a cooper originally from Scotland, alongside lawyer Edward Rucker. Initially named the North-Western Police Agency, it was later rebranded as Pinkerton & Co. and eventually became known as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Between the 1870s and 1890s, it held the distinction of being the largest private law enforcement entity globally. Today, it functions as a division of the Swedish security corporation Securitas AB, operating under the name Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations, Inc. and branded as Pinkerton Corporate Risk Management.

The agency first gained national attention by uncovering the 1861 Baltimore Plot aimed at assassinating President-elect Abraham Lincoln. Throughout the Civil War, Lincoln employed Pinkerton operatives for intelligence gathering and his personal protection, positioning the agency as a forerunner to what would become the United States Secret Service.

Following the war, Pinkerton concentrated on labor-related security operations. Corporations hired Pinkerton to infiltrate labor unions, supply armed guards, and break strikes. A significant episode was during the 1892 Homestead Strike when Pinkerton agents supported industrialist Henry Clay Frick against striking steelworkers, leading to violent confrontations with several deaths. Throughout the late 1800s, Pinkerton also played a role in strikebreaking across industries such as coal, iron, and lumber, including involvement in major events like the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

In the 20th century, Pinkerton redirected its efforts toward personal protection and risk advisory services. Its former government services branch now operates under the name Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services, Inc.. The firm continues to provide worldwide security management, risk assessment, investigative services, background screening, protective details, crisis response, and intelligence solutions from its headquarters located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Origins

During the 1850s, Allan Pinkerton—a Scottish immigrant—joined forces with Chicago-based attorney Edward Rucker to create what was initially called the North-Western Police Agency, later recognized as the Pinkerton Agency. Utilizing Pinkerton’s expertise in espionage and investigation, the agency expanded swiftly by attracting clients needing private detective work. By 1855, after consulting with six railroads in the Midwest, Pinkerton formalized his agency in Chicago to address increasing demand for employee monitoring services. The agency was among the pioneers in employing women and minorities as undercover agents to strengthen its intelligence operations.

Forerunners to the Secret Service

One of Pinkerton’s earliest prominent assignments involved protecting President-elect Abraham Lincoln during his travel from Springfield to Washington D.C., amid credible assassination threats. Detective Kate Warne played a crucial role by employing disguises and careful surveillance to guarantee Lincoln’s safe arrival, elevating public awareness of the agency’s capabilities. This success inspired Pinkerton’s signature open eye emblem accompanied by the motto "We never sleep". Simultaneously, Allan Pinkerton contributed to intelligence activities within the U.S. War Department.

These early protective and intelligence efforts provided essential groundwork for establishing the United States Secret Service, which was founded on July 5, 1865—shortly after Lincoln’s assassination—to ensure continuous presidential security.

U.S. government contractor

In 1871, Congress designated $50,000 to the Department of Justice to establish a federal law enforcement division. However, due to insufficient internal resources, the government turned to contracting with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Over time, as the Pinkertons gained a reputation for strikebreaking activities, legislators grew reluctant to continue government contracts with them.

The agency reached its height of influence during the 1870s and 1880s, frequently involved in forceful interventions against labor strikes, including the notable Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The 1892 Homestead strike generated widespread condemnation of Pinkerton’s role. Consequently, Congress enacted the Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893, which barred federal agencies from employing Pinkerton agents or similar groups providing mercenary or paramilitary strikebreaking services. This law curtailed Pinkerton’s direct contracts with the federal government and compelled a strategic shift in their approach to public sector work.

Molly Maguires

During the 1870s, Franklin B. Gowen, who led the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, engaged Pinkerton operatives to investigate labor unions within the company’s mining operations. Undercover agent James McParland, operating under the pseudonym "James McKenna," infiltrated the secretive Molly Maguires, an organization largely composed of Irish-American coal miners, ultimately contributing to its exposure and demise.

This episode inspired Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Valley of Fear (1914–1915) and was loosely adapted into the 1970 film The Molly Maguires.

Homestead strike

On July 6, 1892, amid the Homestead Strike, approximately 300 Pinkerton operatives were contracted by Carnegie Steel chairman Henry Clay Frick to secure its mill near Pittsburgh and act as strikebreakers. The confrontation that ensued resulted in 16 fatalities and 23 wounded. Pennsylvania Governor Robert E. Pattison responded by deploying state police and the National Guard, which eventually suppressed the strike and allowed mill operations to resume.

Referred to as "The Battle of Homestead," this incident ignited national outrage over Pinkerton’s methods and labor conditions. It signified a pivotal moment in U.S. labor relations history and prompted Congressional action regulating private security firms. In remembrance of their involvement, a nearby bridge linking Munhall and Rankin was named Pinkerton's Landing Bridge.

Steunenberg murder and trial

Following the assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg in 1905, Harry Orchard confessed to Pinkerton operative James McParland that he carried out the killing. Orchard accused Western Federation of Miners leader Big Bill Haywood of orchestrating the murder. Despite Orchard’s statements, Haywood and other WFM officials were acquitted after a widely publicized trial defended by attorney Clarence Darrow. Orchard’s death sentence was subsequently commuted.

Outlaws and competition

Pinkerton agents were employed to pursue notorious western criminals such as Jesse James, the Reno Gang, and Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. On March 17, 1874, two Pinkerton detectives along with a deputy sheriff encountered the Younger brothers in Roscoe, Missouri; this clash resulted in three deaths, including one agent. The agency also tracked fugitives like George Collins and Bill Randolph, both of whom were ultimately executed. Frequently tasked with transporting cash and valuables, Pinkerton agents faced significant risks from outlaw attacks. They were generally well-compensated and heavily armed.

George Thiel, once affiliated with Pinkerton, established the Thiel Detective Service Company in St. Louis, Missouri, creating a rival firm operating throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Modern era

During the 1930s, the Ford Motor Company enlisted Pinkerton agents to counteract union activities at its Ford River Rouge complex, most famously during the Battle of the Overpass. The term "Pinkerton" became synonymous with strikebreaking due to its involvement in labor disputes. Following intense public criticism during the 1937 La Follette Committee investigations and the emergence of federal agencies like the FBI, Pinkerton redirected its operations away from labor surveillance and criminal investigations toward security and protection services. By the 1960s, the company removed "detective" from its corporate identity. Currently, Pinkerton focuses on areas such as threat intelligence, risk assessment, executive protection, and responses to active shooter incidents.

In 1999, Swedish security corporation Securitas AB purchased Pinkerton for $384 million and subsequently combined it with its competitor, the William J. Burns Detective Agency, creating Securitas Security Services USA. The firm’s main office is situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In December 2018, Securitas AB sent a cease-and-desist notice to Take-Two Interactive concerning the use of the Pinkerton name in Red Dead Redemption 2, demanding either licensing fees or legal proceedings; Take-Two contended that the historical context of the Pinkertons in the Wild West did not violate trademark rights. By April 2019, Securitas retracted its claim.

Pinkerton was contracted by Amazon in 2020 to oversee warehouse employees for union organizing activities. Between 2022 and 2023, reports revealed that Starbucks employed a former Pinkerton operative as part of efforts to discourage unionization.

Also in 2020, Matthew Dolloff, an unlicensed security guard working under Pinkerton’s contract, fatally shot a protester in Denver while protecting a news crew. Dolloff faced second-degree murder charges, which were eventually dismissed.

In 2023, Wizards of the Coast engaged Pinkerton to recover leaked Magic: The Gathering cards from YouTuber Dan Cannon after private negotiations failed. Pinkerton utilized legal actions and intimidation tactics to ensure compliance.

Radio

CBS Radio Mystery Theater, The Pinkerton Method, episode #745 (1977)

Public records

In 2000, Pinkerton contributed confidential archives featuring 19th- and early 20th-century outlaws such as Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid to the Library of Congress. This collection contained rare photographs, including the sole known picture of Etta Place and images of Abraham Lincoln taken by members of the Pinkerton family. Archivist Jane Adler observed that many documents had deteriorated due to neglect amid multiple ownership transitions.

References

Notes

Additional resources

Obert, Jonathan (2018) "Pinkertons and Police in Antebellum Chicago" featured in The Six-Shooter State: Public and Private Violence in American Politics. Cambridge University Press.
O'Hara, S. Paul (2016) Inventing the Pinkertons; or, Spies, Sleuths, Mercenaries, and Thugs. Johns Hopkins University Press.

External links