![]() ![]() Deputy Morrell tried to fire his revolver but was disarmed. ![]() Deputy Morrell was putting the prisoners back in the cells after their dinner when he was struck by Benson with a piece of pipe pried from the jail walls. Deputy David Morrell was killed during an escape from the jail by prisoner Christ Benson. Maat 1500 hours, we suffered the loss of our first Deputy Sheriff killed in the line of duty. How ironic for a Sheriff to almost kill one prisoner only to be saved by another. The Sheriff survived thanks to his prisoner. The unknown prisoner tied the buggy wheel on with cords and raced it to Olympia. He was struck near the heart, suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung. His revolver fell out of its holster and discharged. The second incident occurred as Charles was bringing in a prisoner in his buggy and was looking for something to tighten the wheel. A well-directed shot from the Sheriff’s revolver stopped the escape and nearly cost the inmate his life. In December 1897, a jail inmate named James Cronin attacked the Sheriff with slung shot (blackjack) in an escape attempt. He was involved in two shootings during his time as Sheriff. The 19th century closed with the son of William Billings serving as Sheriff.Ĭharles Billings, born on the Puyallup reservation, served as Thurston County Sheriff from 1896-1900. It operated till 1887 when the prison at Walla Walla opened. He was allowed to use the inmates as laborers and was paid 70 cents a day for housing them in his privately owned prison. In 1874, Sheriff Billings also built and ran the first territorial prison at Seatco, now Bucoda. The jail was located at Legion and Adams Street. Sheriff Billings is famous for building the first county jail of brick from his own brickyard on 4th Avenue and Eastside Street in Olympia. Billings ran for Sheriff again in 1868 and was re-elected 11 times in a row. Moxlie, assumed his duties and was elected Sheriff in the 1862 election and served till 1865. ![]() In 1862, he heard the call of the gold fields in Idaho and tried his hand at prospecting on the Salmon River. His first term was from 1860 to 1862 but he did not complete it. He was the first Republican official elected in this county. He served as Sheriff for 12 terms (terms were two years at that time) or 24 years till 1891. This adventurous New Englander, served on a whaling ship in the Pacific in 1848, prospected for gold in California in 1849, was a member of the Free Soil and Whig political parties in 1854 (forerunners of the Republican party), served in the militia in 1855, survived a hurricane off Cape Hatteras in 1857, and was superintendent of the Puyallup Indian Reservation in late 1862. The longest serving Sheriff in the history of the department was named William Billings. This is an example of the complex relationships and conflicts between the early pioneers and the Native Americans of the area. Blankenship, son of the Sheriff, and Owholit remained friends for years afterward. He was eventually pardoned by the Governor and released. The blockhouse, which acted as the first jail, was located in downtown Olympia in what was then called Capital Park. When Jim was not locked up in the local log blockhouse, he was shackled and allowed to play with Sheriff (1858-1860) George C. Chief Leschi was later exonerated in modern retrial by the “Historical Court of Justice”, which was chaired by Washington State Supreme Court’s Chief Justice in 2004.Īnother murder case involved Yelm Jim (Owholit), a Native American of the Nisqually tribe, convicted of murdering his employer, William White, in March 1858. The hanging was carried out by Deputy Sheriff William Mitchell and a posse of 12 men at Steilacoom when Sheriff Hays was absent. Thurston County Sheriff Isaac Hays refused to be a part of this miscarriage of justice which was thought to be an act of war not murder. The famous Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe was convicted of leading the uprising in which Moses was killed. He was killed in 1855 serving in the militia during the Washington Territory Indian Wars of 1855-1857. Benton Moses who served Sheriff Simmons in 1852. The first Deputy Sheriff for this area appears to have been A. He later served as a judge in Mason County. Sheriff Kennedy had arrived in this area by covered wagon in 1853 and owned property in the Kamilche area. ![]() His name was Franklin Kennedy and he served in 1854. The first Sheriff of Thurston County, Washington was appointed by the Governor and not elected. ![]()
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