Sheriff's Office Quick Links
General Information
Phone Numbers
620-221-5444 620-441-4555
Fax: 620-221-5448
Emergencies: Dial 911
Location
911 Fuller
Winfield,
KS
67156

Hours
Office Hours
8 am-5 pm
Concealed Carry
8:30 am-3:30 pm
Offender Registration
9 am-3 pm

History of the Sheriff’s Office

Origin of the Sheriff’s Office

The Cowley County Sheriff was first elected to office in 1870. His name was Frank A. Hunt. He served just one year before another Sheriff was elected, John M. Pattison. Pattison himself only served one year before James Parker was elected  Sheriff of Cowley County.

During Sheriff Parker’s term, a courthouse (including the first jail) was built in 1873 by the City of Winfield and donated to the county. Total cost of the building was $27,000. The courthouse worked well until expansion necessitated the creation of a new courthouse in 1909. It served as the County’s seat until 1963, at which point the current courthouse was built.  Upon construction, it was built around the existing courthouse, and when it was completed the old courthouse was demolished.

Legacy of the Sheriff’s Office

There have been 36 different Sheriffs in Cowley County since the first one was elected in 1870.

As the County has grown, so has the Sheriff’s Office.  In 1959  there were 4 Deputies including the Sheriff, Undersheriff, and 2 Deputies, the Ark City Deputy and the Winfield Deputy.

Today, there are 26 Deputies, including the Sheriff, Undersheriff, Detectives, Civil Process, and Patrol. There are also 7 part-time Deputies whose main priority is the security of the District Courts, both in Arkansas City and Winfield. The 31 person jail staff includes a Jail Administrator, 21 Correctional Officers, 6 part-time Correctional Officers and a full time jail nurse. The personnel at the sheriff’s office also includes three full time clerical staff, consisting of an Office Manager and two Secretaries.

Cooperation with other Agencies
Many changes have occurred over the past decades. Communication and cooperation has always existed between all law enforcement agencies in Cowley County, and it has never been better. As of January 2004, the Arkansas City Dispatch Department, Winfield Police Department and Cowley County Sheriff’s Office share the same computer software and database for records management which allows all three agencies to coordinate and pool information in a single location.

Although procedures, laws, technology, and personnel continually change, the one constant throughout the 130-plus years that the Cowley County  Sheriff’s Office has been in existence, is the  dedication of service to and protection of the Citizens of Cowley County.


Succession of Sheriffs

Term                  Sheriff

1870-1871Frank A. Hunt
1871-1872John M. Pattison
1872-1874James Parker
1876-1878Richard L. Walker
1878-1880Charles L. Harter
1880-1883Albert Taylor Shenneman
1883-1884S.G. Gary
1884-1888George H. McIntire
1888-1890James W. Connor
1890-1892O.S. Gibson
1892-1894James Benedict Nipp
1894-1898John W. Skinner
1898-1903Stretor A. Daniels
1903-1905James Samuel Day
1905-1907A.O. Welfelt
1907-1909James Samuel Day
1909-1914Abraham L. Bransom
1914-1917Leonard W. Hoover
1917-1921Benjamin Day
1921-1925Charles M. Goldsmith
1925-1929Elmer R. Chamness
1929-1933Roy T. Henderson
1933-1937Morell Clark Anders
1937-1939Cecil E. Day
1939-1941Conrad A. Radley
1941-1943Oscar Cummins
1943-1947Phillip Lee Stuber
1947-1951Charles A. Drehmer
1951-1955Walter E. Kennedy
1955-1959James Dill
1959-1962Robert R. Clester
1962-1963Fred Satterthwaite
1963-1967Harold D. Mueller
1967-1985Fred Satterthwaite
1985-2009Bob G. Odell
2009-2017Don Read
2017-David A. Falletti