Submitted by Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Hamilton County is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2023, and the Sheriff’s Office is celebrating 200 years of a tradition of service to the Hamilton County community. Our agency is celebrating this with a special 200th Anniversary Bicentennial Badge that our men and women will be wearing on their uniforms.
Photo provided
The first of two important characteristics that distinguish the Office of Sheriff from other law enforcement agencies is its historical roots.
In England, the sheriff came into existence around the 9th century. This makes the sheriff the oldest continuing, non-military law enforcement entity in history. In early England the land was divided into geographic areas between a few individual kings – these geographic areas were called shires. Within each shire there was an individual called a reeve, which meant guardian. This individual was originally selected by the community to be their informal social and governmental leader.
The kings observed how influential this individual was within the community and soon incorporated that position into the governmental structure. The reeve soon became the king’s appointed representative to protect the king’s interest and act as mediator with people of his shire. Through time and usage, the words shire and reeve came together to be shire-reeve, guardian of the shire and eventually the word sheriff, as we know it today.
Indiana Governor William Hendricks appointed the first Hamilton County Sheriff, William P. Warrick, in 1823. Sheriff Warrick was paid a salary of $26.50 for his service in his first year. The very first county jail was built in 1824, made from logs, on the east bank of the White River just north of the old cemetery in Noblesville. The cost of the 21-foot-long, two-apartment jail was $300.
The Old Sheriff’s Residence and Jail is now home to the Hamilton County Museum of History. (Photo provided)
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s residence and jail was built in 1875 and 1876 and is a Second Empire style brick and limestone building. It consists of the two-story, L-shaped jailer’s residence, with a cellblock attached at the rear. It features a three-story square tower. This historic building served as the Sheriff’s Residence and the Jail until 1977. The Jail is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and the 1876 Museum houses items of county historic interest, restored Victorian rooms, a research library, and jail cells which once housed the infamous Charles Manson and Ku Klux Klan leader D.C. Stephenson.
The tradition of service continues today under Hamilton County Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush. He and his staff continue to serve the public with the same professionalism and integrity that Sheriff William P. Warrick started with in 1823.
Photo provided
Photo provided