Sheriff's Office History
The origin of the Sheriff is traceable to the Office of the Sheriff and Constable of early English history. On Long Island, from 1664 to 1683, ridings were used to establish boundaries within the Shire. The East riding comprised the territory now occupied by Suffolk County. The West riding consisted of Kings County and Newtown (Queens). The remainder of Long Island belonged to the North riding. Collectively, the three ridings were called Yorkshire.
The Governor appointed a “High Sheriff” for Yorkshire with a Deputy from each riding. In 1683, the ridings were abolished and the East riding became Suffolk County. The High Sheriff was no longer necessary being that each County would now have its own Sheriff. Suffolk County’s first Sheriff was Josiah Hobart in 1683.
After the American Revolution, the practice of the Governor appointing a Sheriff continued and was incorporated into the first Constitution adopted in New York in 1777. At the Constitutional Convention in 1821, the appointed Office of the Sheriff was made elective. That year, Abraham Gardiner became Suffolk County’s first elected Sheriff.
Today, the Sheriff of Suffolk County is elected to the term of four years.
On January 1, 2018, Dr. Errol D. Toulon, Jr. became the 67th Sheriff of Suffolk County and the County`s first African American Sheriff in Suffolk County history.
Please scroll through a pictorial history of the the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office.
 Deputy Sheriff Skip SextonCirca 1990 Deputy Sheriff Skip Sexton stands in front of patrol vehicle. |  Sheriff Frank GrossCirca 1962 Deputy Sheriff Frank Gross conducts an administration meeting with Sheriffs Office Staff. |  Sheriff McCollom & StaffThis is a photo of Sheriff William C. McCollom and the staff of the Griffing Avenue Jail taken in the 1940's. Sheriff McCollom served as Suffolk County Sheriff from 1935-1937 and again from 1942-1956. With 16 years of service, Sheriff McCollom was the longest serving Sheriff in Suffolk County. |
|---|---|---|
 Yaphank Correctional FacilityThis is an aerial view of the original Yaphank Correctional Facility which was built in 1959. This photo was taken in the early 1960's. |  Yaphank Correctional Facility 2013This is an aerial view our Yaphank Correctional Facility taken in 2013. If you look closely, you can still make out where the original building is near the traffic circle in the parking lot. |  Sheriff Jacob DreyerSheriff Jacob Dreyer served from 1938-1941 and died in office. This photo, from 1938, shows Sheriff Dreyer with 10 cars purchased by the County to serve as the first 24-hour Highway Patrol in Suffolk County. |
 Riverhead Jail Inmate TransportTaken in the early 1970's, this photo shows Deputy Sheriffs transporting inmates from the Riverhead Correctional Facility to court. |  Chief Deputy CorsoThis is an undated photo of Chief Deputy Philip Corso with a Sheriff's car in front of the old Sheriff's Headquarters behind the courthouse. Corso later became Undersheriff for Sheriff Frank Gross and later appointed to the position of Sheriff to fill a vacancy left by Sheriff Gross after his appointment to the State Parole Board by Governor Rockefeller. |  Sheriff Jacob DreyerSheriff Jacob Dreyer served from 1938-1941 and died in office. This is a photo of Sheriff Dreyer with the spoils of a gambling raid in the Hamptons. The photo was taken in the recreation courtyard of the Griffing Avenue Jail. |
 Sheriff Amza BiggsSheriff Amza Biggs was Sheriff 1917-1919 and 1923-1925. Sheriff Biggs was the first Sheriff to have cars. Two cars were purchased, the first being an Oakland Six Roadster and the second, an REO Model R Four-cycle touring car. |  Griffing Avenue Courthouse & JailThis is a rendering of the Griffing Avenue Courthouse and Octagonal Jail which was built in 1855 to replace the 1729 jail. This image was taken from a document that was published in 1858. |
Suffolk County Sheriffs Throughout History
More Than Three Centuries of Continuous Service
1.
Josiah Hobart
1683-1701
2.
John Mulford
1701-1702
3.
Hugh Gray
1702-1710
4.
John Brush
1710-1718
5.
Daniel Youngs
1718-1723
6.
Samuel Dayton
1723-1728
7.
William Sell
1728-1730
8.
Joseph Smith
1730-1731
9.
David Corrie
1731-1734
10.
Jacob Conklin
1734-1740
11.
Thomas Higbe
1740-1774
12.
James Muirson
1774-1785
13.
Thomas Wickes
1785-1787
1791-1799
14.
Silas Halsey
1787-1791
15.
Phineas Carll
1799-1803
16.
Josiah Reeve
1803-1807
1808-1810
1811-1812
1813-1814
1815-1819
17.
Phineas Smith
1807-1808
18.
Benjamin Brewster
1810-1811
1812-1813
19.
Nathaniel Conklin
1814-1815
20.
Samuel Carll
1819-1821
21.
Abraham Gardiner
1821-1826
1829-1832
22.
Samuel Smith
1826-1829
23.
Richard Smith
1832-1835
24.
Silas Horton
1835-1838
25.
Samuel Miller
1838-1841
26.
David Brush
1841-1844
27.
Henry Penny
1844-1847
28.
David Rose
1847-1850
29.
John Clark
1850-1855
30.
Samuel Phillips
1855-1856
31.
George Carman
1856-1859
32.
Stephen Wilson
1859-1862
33.
Daniel Osborn
1862-1868
34.
George Smith
1868-1871
35.
J. Henry Perkins
1871-1874
36.
Egbert Lewis
1874-1877
37.
George Cooper
1877-1878
38.
Robert Petty
1878-1883
1888-1891
39.
Selah Brewster
1883-1886
40.
Henry Halsey
1886-1888
41.
A.M. Darling
1891-1897
42.
Benjamin Wood
1897-1900
43.
J. Sheridan Wells
1900-1903
44.
Henry Preston
1903-1906
45.
John Wells
1906-1909
46.
Charles Platt
1909-1912
47.
Melville Brush
1912-1913
48.
D. Henry Brown
1913-1914
49.
Charles O'Dell
1914-1917
50.
Amza Biggs
1917-1920
1923-1926
51.
John Kelly
1920-1923
52.
Burton Howe
1926-1929
53.
Ellis Taylor
1929-1932
54.
Joseph Warta
1932-1935
55.
William McCollom
1935-1938
1942-1957
56.
Jacob Dreyer
1938-1941
57.
John Levy
1941-1942
58.
Charles Dominy
1957-1962
59.
Frank Gross
1962-1970
60.
Philip Corso
1970-1976
61.
Donald Dilworth
1976-1977
62.
John Finnerty
1977-1986
63.
Eugene Dooley
1986-1990
63.
Patrick Mahoney
1990-2002
65.
Alfred C. Tisch
2002-2006
66.
Vincent F. DeMarco
2006-2018
67.
Dr. Errol D. Toulon, Jr.
2018- Current