Dale Walls

Travis County Sheriff's Office

Travis County, named for Alamo commander William Barrett Travis, was created Jan. 25, 1840. Originally part of Bastrop County, Travis covered 40,000 square miles and was later divided into 14 separate counties. The population of the city was 629 and the population of the county was 3,138 citizens and 2,063 slaves. The first Sheriff was elected on March 14, 1840 and won by six votes. Since that time, 32 men and one woman have served as Sheriff of Travis County. Originally, the terms were one year (1840-1846) and then two years (1847-1956). Starting in 1957, the Travis County Sheriff serves four year terms. In the 1850's, the city and county began to prosper and the growing population made Travis County a breeding ground for lawlessness. The Sheriff was responsible for all law enforcement in the county until the city of Austin created its own police department in 1851.