History of the Leon County Sheriff's Office

On March 30th, 1822, the United States merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory. Originally part of Escambia and later Gadsden County, Leon County was created in 1824. It was named for Juan Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer who was the first European to reach Florida.

In 1825, William Cameron became the first Sheriff of the newly created Leon County. On March 3rd, 1845, Florida joined the Union as the 27th State and Leon County became the capital county of Florida. Florida's first Constitution, adopted in 1845 when Florida joined the Union, created the office of Sheriff as an elected official in each county. Since 1825, twenty-eight Sheriff's have served the citizens of Leon County.

On January 3rd, 2017, Sheriff Walter A. McNeil was sworn in as the twenty-eighth Sheriff of Leon County.

Honoring Our Fallen Heroes

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