William Smithson

William Francis Smithson was known in the small desert town of Daggett for steady service and commitment to his community. Born and raised in San Bernardino to one of the city’s early pioneer families, Smithson grew into work that kept him close to the people and places of the Mojave: he served as the town constable, a deputy sheriff for San Bernardino County, and worked with the railroad and local industries. He married in his early adult years and was a father to a young daughter, Vivian, who was recorded as seven years old at the time of his death.

Colleagues remembered Smithson as a familiar figure in town life — someone residents called on when disputes needed a calm, authoritative hand. His duties took him to the American Borax Company plant and into the rhythms of a working desert community where mining, railroading, and small-town ties shaped daily life. He carried responsibilities that connected him to both law enforcement and his neighbors, and his pallbearers were drawn from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office, reflecting the respect of his peers.

On the afternoon of October 19, 1907, Smithson responded to a request for help at the borax plant. He was shot during the confrontation and, after being cared for in town, passed away the following morning. While the circumstances of his death are part of the public record, they do not define the whole of his life: he was a husband and father, a local constable and deputy whose presence mattered to Daggett’s residents.

Those who knew him left a record of a man who served his neighbors and whose loss was felt deeply by family and the community he served. His service and sacrifice are remembered by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and memorialized on law enforcement honor rolls as a reminder of the human cost borne by those who keep communities safe.