Long respected as the county's top lawman, the sheriff has a range of duties that include criminal investigations, traffic enforcement, operation of the jail and other responsibilities.

Duties of the sheriff include:

Providing security for the operation of county and district courts;
Enforcing traffic laws, other county ordinances and other state laws;
Service of process;
Accepting bail for prisoners in his custody;
Conducting sales of seized and unclaimed properties; and
Taking charge of and responsibility for the county jail and prisoners.

History of the Wilbarger County Sheriff Department

The Wilbarger County Sheriff's Department has been active since 1881.  During those 115 years, there have only been 23 sheriffs.  Twenty two of these men are deceased.

The first  sheriff on the county, Uel Musick, was killed while attempting to intervene in a saloon fight on or about December 7, 1882.  R.P. Sanders and W. A. Ish hunted train robbers in 1896.  J.T. Williams was considered one of the most fearless peace officers of the state.  He also participated in the only hanging in Wilbarger County, on October 25, 1899.  Ed Luttrell Jr was involved in the investigation of a new grave found at Eastview  Cemetery.  The sheriff with the longest term, Loran (Fuzzy) Smith, died in office, of natural causes.  Some of the sheriffs only served one year terms.  One sheriff, Clinton (Rusty) Russell, retired from  his post but stayed with the county in the probation department.  A plaque on the wall of the sheriff's office contains the name of 16 of these past lawmen and the years they served.  Unfortunately, other than these few facts not much is known of these men.   Most sheriffs never talked about their predecessors.  The recently retired Sheriff, David Quisenberry has been with the department since 1978, served under two previous sheriffs, and has held his current position since 1989. The current sheriff is Larry Lee.

The word "sheriff" came from England in the early 1800's.  It was 'share-reefs,'.  There were reefs, not counties, and a group of men took it upon themselves to protect the people and property of these reefs for no pay.  The people would share the duties for a month and then trade off.  The word eventually became "sheriff".

The Wilbarger County Historical Commission listed five sheriffs in the Wilbarger County History book not included on the plaque at the sheriff's office.  those men included Uel Musick, T L Stewart, A T Boger (appointed), Horatio Chowning and G T  Douglas.