Shortly after Benton County officially was created in late 1847 from Polk County by an act of the Territorial Government of Oregon, the first in a long list of Sheriffs was named. F.W. Hofins was the first leader of law enforcement in the county -- but it was a short term. He took office sometime in 1848 and left less than a year later to join the gold rush in California.

Benton County has had 26 sheriffs since the 679-square-mile county was established on Dec. 23, 1847. Benton is one of seven counties in the United States named after Sen. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, an advocate of the development of the Oregon Territory. Benton County was created out of an area that originally was inhabited by the Klickitat Indians, who rented the land from the Calapooia Indians to use as hunting grounds. At that time, the boundaries began at the intersection of Polk County and the Willamette River and ran as far south as the California border and as far west as the Pacific Ocean. Later, portions of Benton County were taken to form Lane, Douglas, Jackson, Lincoln, Josphine, Curry and Coos counties.

When the first sheriff left, Abraham Nelson Locke was appointed to take his place on Oct. 15, 1849. That term lasted a year but Locke came back in 1860 to serve a second term, this time for two years. Locke was replaced in 1850 by Samuel F. Starr, who resigned in late 1852. S.M. Stout was Sheriff from December 1852 to 1853. T.J. Wright followed Stout, serving from 1853 to 1855. John B. Congle followed, serving one of the shortest terms in the county's history -- two months -- before he resigned.

In 1855, James A. Bennett took the office for a year before being replaced after a year by Sheldon B. Fargo. Bennett tried for a second term in 1858 but was told he did not qualify. James P. Stewart followed Fargo in 1858, but resigned only three months after taking office. George P. Wrenn was appointed in December, 1858 to take Stewart's place, serving through June 1860.

From 1862 to 1864, Joseph Alexander served as Sheriff of Benton County. He later moved from the area and'served in the State Legislature.

The terms started getting longer in the 1860s. Julius Brownson, who followed Alexander, served from 1864 to 1868 followed by J.B. Palmer, who served for eight years from 1868 to 1876.

One of Benton County's more colorful Sheriffs was Solomon King, who followed Palmer with a 1 O-year term from 1876 to 1886 -- the longest term served so far in the county. Sol King was "taller and bigger than most men of his time" and the best known of the historic King Family in Benton County. He came to Oregon in 1845 on a wagon train when he was 12 years old. In 1872, Sol King and his wife and six children moved to Corvallis, where he purchased the Corvallis Livery, Feed and Sale Stable. The family ran the business for 14 years before giving it up after the barn burned. In 1876, King ran for Sheriff for the first time and was given the support of the Corvallis Gazette, the local newspaper. The paper praised him for his struggle "to manhood thro' the pioneer difficulties... For his opportunities, no man, for generosity and whole-souled help, to those in need, has more to rise up and call him blessed than Sol King."

King, a Republican, was nominated for a fifth term but declined to run because he did not have the full support of the nominating committee. He told the group he would accept the nomination only if it were unanimous. But two men -- Democrats who changed their party affiliation a year earlier so they could attend the nominating meeting -- voted against King and he refused to accept the nomination.

William MacKay followed King and put in six years as Sheriffof Benton County, serving from 1886 to 1892 with David A. Osborn following with a four-year term from 1892 to 1896. Peter Rickard served a four-year term from 1896 to 1900, bringing law enforcement in the county into the 20th Century. M.P. Bumett followed up with four, two-year terms, serving the county from 1900 to 1908.


William Andrew Gellatly, the man who served one of the longest terms as Sheriff in Benton County from 1908 to 1920, left the job after resigning. The popular Gellatly received the largest majority of any candidate in the state for public office in one election. Before he went into law enforcement, Gellatly, a native of California, was a farmer who dabbled in wholesale stock deals. He had eight children, including two daughters who were deputies with the When Gellatly called it quits he was replaced by Samuel Newton Warfield, who finished up the last few months of Gellatly's term and served until 1925. Emery Jesse Newton was appointed as Sheriff of Benton County in 1925 and served for 10 years. Before he was appointed Sheriff, Newton also had served as County Recorder and County Clerk.

Wilbur M. "Bill" Harper was elected to follow Newton, serving 10 years as Sheriff of the county. When he resigned in 1946 to become the Campus Marshal at Oregon State University, Clifford N. Lilly came on board and ended up serving 17 years with Benton County. In 1963, a former captain with the Los Angeles Police Department, Charles Edson "Ed" Ream, became Sheriff, serving until 1971.

John T. "Jack" Dolan took office in 1971 and served 18 years before resigning. David Scott Cook, the current Sheriff, was appointed to the office on June 2, 1989.

David Scott Cook became Sheriff of Benton County when he was appointed to the position on June 2, 1989, having served as Undersheriff for four years from 1985 until his appointment in 1989. Scott was elected to a four-year term in 1990. He joined the Benton County Sheriff's Office in 1970 as a Deputy Sheriff and later was promoted to Sergeant. Leaving law enforcement, he lived in California, where he worked as owner and manager of Ace Builders Center in San Leandro from 1975 to 1981.

Cook returned to Oregon and the Benton County Sheriff's Office in 1981, where he became a Corrections Officer and Assistant Corrections Facility Manager. He became a Lieutenant and Chief Civil Deputy of the department from 1982 to 1984 before being named Undersheriff in early 1985. He was appointed Sheriff following the resignation of Sheriff John T. "Jack" Dolan.

Cook was born on Guam Sept. 28, 1947. He moved to Oregon in 1965 from Alamo, Calif. He graduated in 1965 from San Ramon High School in Danville, Calif. and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in humanities in 1969 from Oregon State University. From 1970-1974, Cook attended the education and business graduate schools at Oregon State.


-from Gess Smith

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