Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department’s Thompson submachine gun (Tommy gun) now on display at Allamakee County Veterans Museum
On full display at Allamakee County Veterans Museum ... The Thompson submachine gun - nicknamed a Tommy gun - first used by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department in the 1930s is now on full display (as pictured above) inside the Allamakee County Veterans Museum in Waukon. The Tommy gun has been on loan from the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department and was on display in the Allamakee County Courthouse Museum but was recently moved to the handicapped-accessible Veterans Museum. Submitted photo.
Thompson submachine gun ... Submitted photo.
Gunda Martindale ... Submitted photo.
Leonard Bulman ... Submitted photo.
The Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department’s Thompson submachine gun has been relocated from the Old Courthouse Museum and is now displayed in the Allamakee County Veterans Museum in Waukon. One could say that the Tommy gun has “come home,” as the Veterans Museum includes the 1882 two-story red brick building (pictured far below at right) which was once the site of the Allamakee County Sheriff’s official residence and the County Jail, beginning in 1882.
The “new” (and current) courthouse that also included a jail was built in 1939 on the opposite side of Allamakee Street and the former Sheriff’s residence and jail premises fell into disuse until after WWII when county veterans established the Vet’s Club.
An article by Maury Gallager in an October 2008 issue of The Waukon Standard recounted the history of the Tommy gun when former Allamakee County Sheriff Tim Heiderscheit loaned it to the Allamakee County Historical Society for display in the Old Courthouse Museum next door. Current Sheriff Clark Mellick recently authorized the Historical Society to move the display to the Veterans Museum, which is handicapped accessible and can offer the historic weapon for display more effectively.
Most Iowa Sheriffs acquired these machine guns during the “Public Enemy Era” of the early 1930s when gangsters, bootleggers, and bank robbers threatened many small communities. Leonard J. Bulman was Sheriff when the gun was acquired and lived in the 1882 building with his family.
The museum display that accompanies the Tommy gun also tells the story of Sheriff Ben Martindale, who lived in the residence with his wife, Gunda, and their children. Unfortunately, Sheriff Martindale died of natural causes while still serving in that role in 1921.
In an unprecedented move of compassion, the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors appointed his widow, Gunda Martindale, as Sheriff to serve out the remainder of her husband’s term in office. This made her not only the first female sheriff of Allamakee County, but also the first female sheriff in the state of Iowa. Women had just obtained the right to vote and hold public office as of 1920 due to a recent amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Sadly, Sheriff Leonard Bulman was shot and killed in 1946 while serving an arrest warrant in Postville. Again, the Board of Supervisors appointed his widow, Martha Bulman, as Sheriff to serve out her husband’s term in office. However, Mrs. Bulman graciously declined their kind offer.
Allamakee County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris McCartney installed the Tommy gun in a display case protected by the Veterans Museum’s alarm and surveillance systems. Currently, visitors may tour the museum Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, as well as other times by appointment by calling 563-568-2954.
