Thomas Shannon
was the first elected Sheriff of Madison County Tennessee.
Shannon was elected in 1822 and served a four year term which
ended in 1826. According to the book Historic Madison, Madison
County had a population as recorded in 1830 of 11,594.
Geographically Madison County was very different from that of
today, in that the county encompassed a great deal more land
area. “In 1822 Madison County also included what is today
known as Chester, Hardeman, Fayette and Tipton Counties. The
western border of Madison County was near the Mississippi
River … the southern border was the State of Mississippi.
Borders to the north and east still virtually remain unchanged”
(Williams, 1972).
Today the
Madison County Sheriff’s Department is led by Sheriff David
Lee Woolfork. Sheriff Woolfork was elected as the Sheriff of
Madison County in 1994. The Madison County Sheriff’s
Department currently employees over 200 full time personnel
and serve a population of approximately 99,400 residents
according to the website
(United States
Census Bureau [USCB], 2005).
The department
has several divisions including criminal investigations, court
security, jail, maintenance, patrol, training, and warrants.
The department has numerous responsibilities including the
prevention and detection of crime, protection of local
residents, providing security for the courts, serving all
court process and the detention of convicted persons within
jail.
This information was researched and provided by Capt. Anthony
Heavner.
