Montgomery County Sheriff's Office History Collection

The origins of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office are as old as Montgomery County itself, with George Newcom being elected the county’s first sheriff in 1803. The Sheriff’s office building and county jail were in a handful of locations before the two most recent, which are depicted in this collection. The Third Street jail was built in 1869 behind the new courthouse. The new jail, at 330 West Second Street, was completed in 1965 and has served as jail and Sheriff’s office ever since.

L. Thomas “Tom” Wilson (1928-2014), who gathered or created most of the materials found in this collection, served at both the Third Street and Second Street locations during his 37 years in local law enforcement. He served 8 years with Oakwood and graduated from the FBI National Academy. He served 19 years as Chief Deputy Sheriff and 10 years as Sheriff of Montgomery County from 1978 to 1988. He was Past President of the FBI National Academy Association of Ohio, the Buckeye State Sheriff's Association, Law Enforcement Officers Association of Montgomery County, Ohio-Indiana Police Association, S.W. Ohio Police and Sheriff's Association and was awarded the Ohio's Outstanding Sheriff's Award in 1981.