Clark County Sheriffs Office

In December, 1786, the General Assembly of Virginia passed an Act to deed a certain portion of land, containing 149,000 acres, North of the Falls of Ohio to General George Rogers Clark and fifteen of his soldiers. They were being rewarded for their exploration of the area and land further west in what would become the United States. This tract of land was named in honor of Clark and was know as his Grant until 1801. Governor William H. Harrison issued a proclamation, February 3, 1801, dividing the County of Knox and erecting a separate county of Clark. First court sessions held at Springville, February 4, 1801. In 1801 Samuel Hay was appointed first Sheriff of Clark County. On June 9, 1802 the Governor issued an Ordinance for the removal of the Seat of Justice to Jeffersonville. The courthouse of Clark County was built about 1836 and cost upward of $6,000. The jail was built in 1858 at the expense of $9,000.00 A Jailers residence was attached to it. The jail at that time com...