"I am proud to have grown up and raised my family in Knox County. I enjoy working in the field of law enforcement and being a part of a great team."
Silas Brown | 1808 | John G. Stevenson | 1887-90 |
Ichabod Nye | 1809-13 | John G. Fowler | 1891-92 |
John Hawn | 1813-17 | Noah W. Allen | 1893-94 |
John Shaw | 1817-19 | Charles S. Sapp | 1895-96 |
Alexander Elliot | 1819-20 | Justus D. Smoots | 1897-1900 |
William Beavans | 1820-24 | Isaac C. Lynde | 1901-03 |
Charless Colerick | 1824-28 | James Shellenbarger | 1903-05 |
John Shaw | 1828-29 | Rollin C. Clements | 1905-08 |
Johnston Elliot | 1829 | Peter J. Parker | 1908-13 |
Hugh Neal | 1830-34 | John M. Woolison | 1913-17 |
Isaac Hadley | 1834-36 | Walter B. Mosholder | 1917-21 |
William Beam | 1836-40 | Burr H. Lytle | 1921-25 |
Absalom Thrift | 1843-46 | Clifton G. Stream | 1925-29 |
David C. Montgomery | 1847-50 | Hoy C. Lynde | 1929-33 |
Thomas Wade | 1851-54 | F. Dowe Mason | 1933-37 |
Lewis Strong | 1855-56 | Clyde E. Biggs | 1937-41 |
Israel Underwood | 1857-60 | Charles R. Lawrence | 1941-44 |
James Shaw | 1861-62 | Bertha Lawrence | 1944-45 |
Allen Beach | 1863-64 | Salathiel Bumpus | 1945-53 |
George W. Steele | 1865-68 | Paul M. Cochran | 1953-65 |
Allen Beach | 1869-72 | Ralph D. Peairs | 1965-77 |
John Armstrong | 1873-76 | Paul K. Rowe | 1977-93 |
John Ferguson Gay | 1877-80 | David B. Barber | 1993-2013 |
John A. Schnebly | 1881-82 | David Shaffer | 2013- |
Allen J. Beach | 1883-86 |
The American Sheriffs trace their heritage back to ninth century England when the King had a personal representative in each shire, whose title was Shire Reeve. A shire was the equivalent of an American county, and the title Shire Reeve evolved into a single word: Sheriff.
When English subjects came to the New World, they brought with them the traditions of the English criminal justice system, including the office of the Sheriff.
Sheriff Hoy Lynde, who served from 1929 to 1933, was the father of “Hollywood Squares” celebrity and film star Paul Lynde.
From 1944 to 1945, Knox County had its first woman Sheriff, Bertha Lawrence, wife of Sheriff Charles Lawrence. Bertha was appointed to finish her husband’s unexpired term after he died in office unexpectedly at the age of forty-one.
In 2007, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office became only the fifth Ohio Sheriff’s Office to be internationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement agencies.
In 2010, that distinction was maintained as the Sheriff’s Office was re-accredited by CALEA.
Citizens are encouraged to use the confidential tip line to leave information on suspected criminal activity, including drug activity, burglaries, wanted persons, child and elder abuse, and welfare fraud.