The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office was formed on March 5, 1794. At that time, its jurisdiction covered what had previously been known as the Military Tract, a 1.75 million-acre stretch of land made available as bounty to soldiers of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. Since then, the episodes that sketched the history of Onondaga County and Central New York have painted an exciting historical portrait of the sheriff’s office and the role it has played in the development of its communities. Intriguing theaters of the office’s history include promoting peace the the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, maintaining jails, conducting early legal hangings, suppressing insurrections, policing the storied Erie Canal, and keeping pace of the ever-changing trends of crime, technology, and strategy.

Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office historian Jonathan L. Anderson has collected this set of historical images from the sheriff’s office archives to share with Arcadia’s Images of America series in celebration of the office’s proud professional heritage.

The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.