Lincoln County’s First Sheriff

By Gabe Gants, sheriff candidate

To date, twenty-five men have served as our Lincoln County Sheriff, twenty-six if you count a short period the prosecutor became acting sheriff in the early 1980s. There have been both elected and appointed sheriffs since the county was created 139 years ago in 1883, and they have served terms ranging from five months all the way to seventeen years in office. Originally the sheriff here was elected to two-year terms, but that changed in 1922 when the term became four years. While many have served, there is only one man who has the honor of being the first Lincoln County Sheriff and his name was John C. Cody. 

Lincoln County was carved from Spokane County in November of 1883, and in December of that year John C. Cody was appointed as the first sheriff. Cody’s family history suggests he was born in 1845 to his Irish immigrant parents who wanted him to become a priest. He had other ideas, and ran away coming west to Nevada where he enlisted in the calvary of the union army in 1863. In 1879, Cody settled in Sprague where he was a resident when the county was created, and later took the job of top lawman. Early records indicate Cody had only one full time deputy to help him keep the peace, but under his reign the office would temporarily become the largest of all time.

Cody was said to be a relative of Buffalo Bill (Cody), and was described in family legend as a well-liked man who was “not one to be pushed around”. He served during the territorial days void of many laws and often had to make do with the resources around him. During the fight for the county seat (involving allegations of election fraud) between Sprague and Davenport in 1884, Cody was said in local newspaper stories to have deputized 180 men armed “to the teeth” with both rifles and revolvers. He led this small army into Davenport and was able to seize control of the county records without a single shot ever being fired. 

He served only four years as Lincoln County Sheriff, but appears to have been quite busy by today’s standards. Jail records show three separate arrests by him in 1886 for murder alone. On top of that, he appears to have been constantly chasing horse thieves and drunks all in the name of keeping the peace. 

Cody left law enforcement at the end of his second term in 1887, and became involved in farming and mining. He spent the remainder of his life in the Keller area where he also served as a judge. Cody passed away from an abscess of the inner ear at the age of 74 in 1919 and is buried in Keller. 

While it has been a long time since Cody put on the badge to keep this county safe, the office of Lincoln County Sheriff has continued without interruption since he first took the oath of office way back in 1883. As another term now comes to a close, citizens will soon select the next sheriff, and in true Sheriff Cody “posse-like” fashion they will have numerous options to pick from.