History

Price County was originated by an act of the State Legislature on March 3, 1879, from parts of Chippewa and Lincoln Counties.

According to the provisions of the bill creating it, Price County was attached to Taylor County for judicial purposes. The District Attorney, Clerk of Court and Sheriff of Taylor County also served the newly formed Price County.

Deputy Sheriff Appointed
Hence, it was necessary that a Deputy Sheriff be appointed for Price County. To meet this necessity, Sheriff Dennis Needham of Taylor County appointed Chris Dardis of Phillips as the 1st Deputy Sheriff.

In the election of November 1879, Eli L. Urquhart was elected Sheriff of Taylor County and served both Taylor and Price Counties during 1880 and 1881. On January 17, 1880, he re-appointed Chris Dardis as Deputy Sheriff for the Phillips area and Hugh McDermid Deputy Sheriff for the Fifield area.

Price County Jail & Courthouse Through the Years

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Judicial System Split
Upon the separation of the judicial system of the two counties, the first election for office of Sheriff was held on November 18, 1881. Of the 294 votes that were cast in the election, Alexander W. Bond of the Republican ticket received 135 votes and Chris Dardis on the Union ticket received 114 votes and John Urquhart, whose party affiliation is unknown, received 45 votes.

On February 18, 1882, Alexander W. Bond took office as the first elected Sheriff of Price County.

Elected Sheriffs
Term Length
Elected Sheriffs
Party
1882 - 1884 Alexander W. Bond Republican
1885 - 1886
George Osterman 
Democrat
1887 - 1888
Eugene Martin
Democrat
1889 - 1890
Thomas Bailey
Democrat
1891 - 1892
Al M. Hunt
Democrat
1893 - 1894 Cornelius C. Kellher
Democrat
1895 - 1896
Nels Auley
Republican
1897 - 1898
Alex W. Nelson
Republican
1899 - 1900
Matt Christianson
Republican
1901 - 1902
William J. Neff
Republican
1903 - 1904
William F. Minnick
Independent
1905 - 1906
Charles A. Swerd
Republican
1907 - 1908
Patrick Barnett
Democrat
1909 - 1910
Matt Christianson
Republican
1911 - 1912
Ed Hewitt
Republican
1913 - 1914
Matt Christianson
Republican
1915 - 1916
Eli Hicks
Republican
1917 - 1918
Nick Bey
Republican
1919 - 1920
Charles G. Larson
Republican
1921 - 1922
Nick Bey
Republican
1923 - 1924
August Johnson
Republican
1925 - 1926
Nick Bey
Republican
1927 - 1928
Bert Alm
Republican
1929 - 1932
Nick Bey
Republican
1933 - 1934
John Craig
Republican
1935 - 1938
Howard Hicks
Progressive
1939 - 1940
John Boyer
Progressive
1941 - 1942
Gus Zierer
Republican
1943 - 1946
Leo Weyers
Republican
1947 - (died in office)
Frank Cervenka
Republican
1947 - 1950
Herbert Hammond
Republican
1951 - 1954
George Heizler
Republican
1955 - 1958
Andrew Pilch
Republican
1959 - 1962
Paul Gehring
Republican
1963 - 1966
Andrew Pilch
Republican
1967 - 1980
Paul Gehring
Republican
1981 - 1986
Michael H. Johnson
Democrat
1987 - 1994
Wayne Wirsing
Republican
1995 - 2000
Richard J. Heitkemper
Democrat
2001 - 2002
Robert D. Randolph
Democrat
2003 - 2009
Wallace C. Krenzke
Democrat
2009 -
Brian S. Schmidt
Republican


Note: Article VI, Section 4, of Wisconsin Statutes, amended November 1882, limiting term of office to 1 2-year term and amended April 1929 to 2 2-year terms.