James Cron Oral History

Object number2007.001.0029

Date05/10/2007

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject James Cron

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumHi-8 videotape

DimensionsDuration: 58 Minutes

Terms

Collections

Oral History Collection

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with James Cron. A jail clerk at the Dallas Police Department at the time of the Kennedy assassination, Cron started the first Crime Scene Search Unit at the Dallas County Sheriff's Department in 1970. He later became a veteran crime scene investigator and law enforcement consultant. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on May 10, 2007 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is fifty-eight minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

Less than one week after this oral history, James Cron participated in a public program at The Sixth Floor Museum on May 16, 2007, entitled "CSI: Dallas." This panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Tim Sliter, chief of physical evidence at UT Southwestern Institute of Forensics, featured Cron along with forensic firearms examiner Charles Clow and Dr. Stacy McDonald, deputy chief of physical evidence at UT Southwestern Institute of Forensics. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Curatorial Commentary

James Gilbert Cron passed away on April 24, 2019 at the age of 79. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Curatorial Commentary

The Museum's James Cron Collection (2007.012), donated at the time of this oral history, is comprised of a series of Kennedy assassination-related photographs and documents, including images of the Identification Bureau at the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, Jack Ruby 1963 mugshots and images of the John F. Kennedy Memorial under construction. - Stephen Fagin, Curator