VCSO History

History of the Valley County Sheriff's Office

The following information was taken from "Footprints in the Valley" A History of Valley County. Much of this information can also be found at Valley County's Pioneer Museum.

In 1893 Valley County was created out of Dawson County and included everything north of the Missouri River to Canada, and from the North Dakota border to a point west of Malta. In that same year the Valley County Courthouse and Jail were built. James Deegan was appointed Sheriff, and the first elected Sheriff was Sid Willis in 1894. In 1913 a portion of the county was chopped up to form Sheridan County, and in 1915 Phillips County was formed out of the western part of Valley County. Once again the county was chopped in 1919 to form Roosevelt County to our east, and then in 1920 to create Daniels County, reducing Valley County to it's present size of 5,064 square miles. At present, the Valley County Sheriff's Office and Jail are housed in the courthouse which was built in 1972.

Valley County Sheriffs & their Terms of Office