Orange County Sheriff's Office history

On December 29, 1824 Mosquito County was created and a plantation house on the Tomoka River was the designated site of the county court until a permanent county seat could be established.

In January, 1835 the Mosquito County seat was established in New Smyrna but Indian occupations in the region forced it to be relocated to St Augustine.

The mouse, the whale, and the folks who make the movies sealed the deal to put the county on the world map as one of its premier tourist destinations. It was on January 31, 1845 that Orange County was carved out of a vast territorial and largely undeveloped region of the state known as Mosquito County.

Even then, Southern California was a lawless society until the 1870s, plagued by rustlers, highwaymen, murderers, robbers and swindlers. It wasn't until California became a state in 1850 that formal law enforcement institutions, based on the common law of England, became established.

Elijah Watson, a cabinetmaker from South Carolina pinned on the badge of Orange County Sheriff in March, 1852.

He too wore the many hats that came with the office until he resigned as Sheriff on May 19, 1855 to become the first sheriff of Volusia County.

It is reported he died on November 24, 1862 in Winchester, Virginia after being captured and forced to endure the harsh conditions he encountered during his captivity.

Sheriff John Mizell would be the next man to fill the shoes of Sheriff of Orange County following his appointment to the office on July 24, 1868.

In 1870 Grover Cleveland was elected Sheriff of Erie County, New York.

In 1872 Sheriff Cleveland on two specific occasions publicly executed men convicted of murder.

Speer’s uneventful term as Sheriff continued until June, 1873 when the state’s next governor appointed William Patrick to replace the short-term sheriff.

Four years later, on January 27, 1877, Sheriff Thomas “Long Tom” Shine would be appointed Sheriff of Orange County.

Sheriff Shine would serve until February 15, 1885 when Julias Caesar Anderson took Office.

Each formal community had its marshal, its constable and its judge and when Orange County was formed in 1889, its citizens had a sheriff, directly responsible to them, and a new set of institutions right in their own backyard.

He would be replaced by John Francis Gordon on the day of Kirkwood’s death after serving as a Deputy Sheriff since 1909.

The county’s 17th Sheriff would fall gravely ill while in office and passed away while on duty on May 1, 1913.

He interrupted his term as Sheriff to serve as Chief of the Orlando Police Department until he resigned to run unopposed for Sheriff in 1936.

Changing times would be on the horizon when Sheriff Black lost his bid for re-election to David Starr in the 1948 election.

Gordon served as Sheriff until he left office to become a detective with the Orlando Police Department and ultimately getting back into the booming citrus industry until he passed away on February 26, 1953.

Many would ask, “When does this man sleep?” His reputation among his peers led him to be named president of the National Sheriff’s Association in 1957, an honor almost unheard of for a law man from the south.

Mel Colman was indeed a seasoned law enforcement professional in every respect and brought a great deal of experience to the Sheriff’s Office when he assumed control of the agency in December 1971.

Sheriff Beary, a third generation law enforcement officer, began his career in Florida with the Melbourne Police Department in 1976.

Lawson L. Lamar ran against and defeated Sheriff Colman in the county’s 1980 general election.

During his two terms as Sheriff, ending in December, 1988 after running for and being elected State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Sheriff Lamar continued to make the changes that would enable and equip the agency to deal with the county’s rapid growth that showed no signs of letting up.

Orange County Sheriff's Office Orlando FL Florida 1995 Police History Book

In 1996, during a Countywide reorganization, Communications was transferred to the Sheriff's Department.

And if you can keep him on topic long enough he might mention the fact that he was elected president of the National Sheriff’s Association in 2002, a fact that all but escaped mention by the local media who were all too often quick to criticize him.

He speaks fondly of the professionalism displayed by the agency following Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne when our sworn and civilian personnel did their jobs even as they themselves experienced damage and property loss from the three major storms in 2004.