According to the history of Clay County, April 26th, 1872 is considered the birthday of the Clay County. The first Sheriff, James Blanchard, was appointed by the two County Commissioners at that time.
Below is a list of all the Sheriff’s that have served Clay County. Photos of all, but one, Sheriff are displayed in the Law Enforcement Center lobby.
- James Blanchard -- 1872-1876
- Charles Nichols -- 1877-1878
- William Bodkin -- 1879-1882, 1885-1886,1895-1900
- Asariah Larcom -- 1883
- Charles Sloggy -- 1883-1884
- Jorgen Jenson -- 1887-1890
- Charles Hill -- 1891-1894
- John Bayer -- 1901-1906
- Archie Whaley -- 1907-1914, 1928-1934
- William Ritteman -- 1914
- Dan McDonald -- 1915-1924
- Peter Malvey -- 1924-1928
- Roscoe Brown -- 1935-1946
- William Curran -- 1947-1954
- Parker Erickson -- 1955-1962
- Adolph Olsen -- 1962-1978
- James Fischer -- 1979-1990
- Larry Costello -- 1991-2002
- Craig Baker -- 2002
- William Bergquist -- 2003-2018
- Mark Empting -- 2019-Present