The Harris County Sheriff's Office
The Harris County Sheriff's Office, founded in 1837, is the largest sheriff's office in Texas and the third largest in the United States. The HCSO has nearly 4600 employees and 200 reservists dedicated to ensuring the safety of over 4.1 million residents who call Harris County home. Harris County encompasses 1788 square miles (1729 land) and includes forty-one incorporated municipalities.
Harris County is a burgeoning and vast metropolitan area - home to one of the most culturally rich cities in the nation. The Harris County Sheriff's Office is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and secure community. The partnership between our organization and you, the residents of Harris County, is critical in the fight against crime.
The HCSO is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The Commission was established in 1979 as a credentialing authority through the joint efforts of law enforcement's major executive associations. The HCSO became accredited in 2002 and is the largest law enforcement agency in Texas to receive this professional designation. We are also the largest Sheriff’s Office in the nation to be accredited. Click here to learn more about Harris County, Texas.
Harris County Sheriff's Office: 1837 - Present
The county was founded on December 30, 1835, as Harrisburg County and organized on March 1, 1836. The name was changed to Harris County on December 28, 1839. Harris County is named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the area.
John Moore was sworn in as the first sheriff of what was then called Harrisburg County in February 1837. Among the oldest law enforcement agencies in Texas, the department has grown from a single man on horseback to a modern agency.
A History of HCSO Sheriffs

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
2017-Present

Sheriff Ron Hickman
2015-2017

Sheriff Adrian Garcia
2008-2015

Sheriff Tommy Thomas
1995-2008

Sheriff Johnny Klevenhagen
1985-1995

Sheriff Jack Heard

Sheriff Clairville "Buster" Kern

Sheriff Neal Polk

Sheriff Norfleet Hill

Sheriff Thomas A. Binford

Sheriff Marion F. Hammond

Sheriff Archie Anderson

Sheriff W.M. Baugh

Sheriff Albert Erichson

Sheriff George W. Ellis

Sheriff John J. Fant

Sheriff Cornelius M. Noble

Sheriff Sam S. Ashe

Sheriff A.B. Hall

Sheriff John Proudfoot

Sheriff Irvin Capers Lord

Sheriff B.P. Lanham

Sheriff George W. Frazier

Sheriff John R. Grymes

Sheriff Thomas M. Hogan

Sheriff James Butler Hogan Jr.

Sheriff David Russell

Sheriff John Fitzgerald

Sheriff Mangus T. Rodgers

Sheriff John Moore
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
Sheriff Ron Hickman
Sheriff Adrian Garcia
Sheriff Tommy Thomas
Sheriff Johnny Klevenhagen
Sheriff Jack Heard
Sheriff Clairville "Buster" Kern
Sheriff Neal Polk
Sheriff Norfleet Hill
Sheriff Thomas A. Binford
Sheriff Marion F. Hammond
Sheriff Archie Anderson
Sheriff W.M. Baugh
Sheriff Albert Erichson
Sheriff George W. Ellis
Sheriff John J. Fant
- Every prisoner kept his jail cell clean
- Do not spit on the floor
- No shouting to persons passing the jail
- All subject to fine of not less than 50 cents
Sheriff Cornelius M. Noble
- The opium den at the corner of Congress and Caroline Streets is evidently doing a thriving business
- By order of Commissioner's Court, C. Anson, County Judge presiding, the new law by which county prisoners cannot be hired out of the county in which they reside and tried and keeps the Harris County Jail better filled than before.
Sheriff Sam S. Ashe
Sheriff A.B. Hall
Sheriff John Proudfoot
Sheriff Irvin Capers Lord
- City Alderman/1st Ward: 1858- 1863
- Elected City Marshal: 1863 - 1865
- Harris County Commissioner: 1842
- Appointed Sheriff of Harris County Sept., 1865
- Board of Health City of Houston: 1867 - 1868
- City Finance Committee: 1870 - 1871
- City Alderman/5th Ward: 1874- 1879
- Mayor: 1875- 1876
- City Street Commissioner: 1889 - 1890
Sheriff B.P. Lanham
Sheriff George W. Frazier
Sheriff John R. Grymes
Sheriff Thomas M. Hogan
Sheriff James Butler Hogan Jr.
- Justice of the Peace: 1840
- City Alderman: Feb. 18, 1846
- Harris County Sheriff: Aug 5, 1850 - 1853
- City Marshall: 1853 - 1854
- Market Master: 1853 - 1854
- City Alderman: 1856 - 1857
Sheriff David Russell
Sheriff John Fitzgerald
- Harris County Coroner: Feb. 1837- 1840
- Justice of the Peace: 1839 - 1843
- Harris County Commissioner: 1842
- City Secretary: 1843 - 1847
- Elected Sheriff of Harris County Feb., 27, 1844
- Served as Sheriff until July 13, 1846
Sheriff John Moore
- First Sheriff of Harris County, Texas
- Member of the Consultation at San Felipe in 1835
- Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836
- Married to Eliza Belnap, February 2, 1839
- City Alderman in Houston, 1840
- Died in Houston, 1846