Dozens of people gathered at the lobby of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office Monday to pay tribute to former Deputy Sheriff Edward Foley.

Foley is the only Sherburne County deputy ever killed in the line of duty. Sept. 27 marked the 100th Anniversary of his death.

With the office and lobby packed with law enforcement personnel, county officials and even some of Foley’s descendants, Sheriff Joel Brott spoke about Foley’s life and his impact on residents of the county. 

“Ed Foley was a successful businessman, popular and well-liked by his many friends. Press accounts at the time of his death referred to him as “one of the best known men in the eastern part of Sherburne County whose friends were legion wherever he was known.”

Foley was an enterprising businessman, “a live wire, ever ready to help his friends and was a booster for his home community,” one newspaper article read.

“He sounds to me like a person we would like to have as a part of our community today,” said Brott.

Brott recounted a story from December, 1918 about Foley capturing a thief who had walked away from his job with a 30-30 rifle, gun case and other stolen items.

“Foley chased the thief all night and eventually located the man in Milaca. The scofflaw raised the rifle and threatened to shoot,” said Brott. “Foley pulled his revolver and fired a shot into the ground near the thief’s feet. The wanted man dropped the rifle and surrendered.”

An article published the year he died described Foley’s penchant for joking around, he apparently was quite the character and jokester.

Ed Foley was also a  dedicated family man, husband to Eva, and father to Lucille and Merton. He started in the creamery business before purchasing a livery business in Zimmerman. He managed a hotel and garage in Zimmerman before moving to Elk River in 1918. He bought and ran an auto repair business and had been a sheriff’s deputy for 10 years when he was called to what would be his last duty as a deputy.

A Studebaker stolen in St. Cloud was headed toward Elk River, with suspects inside wanted for a bank robbery. Late Sept. 27, 1919, Foley, Marshal Iliff and Sheriff Mert Iliff went to the Elk River Bridge to set up a roadblock.

They checked a few cars and let them pass when a Buick approached the roadblock. It was different than the Studebaker they were looking for, but Foley wanted to question the people inside before letting them pass. Foley asked the driver to wait a moment.

A news report at the time said a shot, believed to have been fired by the man beside the driver, hit Foley in the chest. He died instantly. 

News reports, court records and arrest reports don’t show any evidence that Foley’s killers were ever charged for the murder.

In the 100 years since Ed Foley was murdered, there have been occasional stories about him in the local press. There is a plaque on the Elk River Bridge marking what happened there 100 years ago.

“Today, we as a sheriff’s office want to add to our new lobby a permanent reminder of Ed Foley’s service,” said Brott, “service that ended with him making the ultimate sacrifice for the residents of Sherburne County.”

When Brott concluded, two county deputies unveiled the Foley memorial. It shows a photo of Foley, a folded Americal Flag and a copy of the original newspaper article about the account of his death.

It is now displayed on the wall outside the sheriff’s office.