Former Sheriffs of Gray County

HISTORY OF GRAY COUNTY SHERIFFS

Gray County was created on August 21, 1876 from Bexar County and was named for Peter Gray, early attorney and Texas legislator. The county was not organized until May 27, 1902 with Lefors as the county seat. Pampa became the county seat in 1928. The first county records are dated June 30, 1902. There have been fourteen men and two women who have served as sheriff. The only appointees in the history of Gray County were the women, to complete their husbands’ terms.

To see a larger photo and biographical information,
please click on a thumbnail sketch.


J.T. Crawford


R.P. Reeves


J.S. Denson


W.S. Copeland


E.S. Graves


L.L. Blanscet

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Don Copeland, Sheriff

Gray County, Texas
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C.E. Pipes


F. Pipes


E. Talley


R. Talley


C. Rose


G.H. Kyle


R.H. Jordan


J. Free


R.Stubblefield


Otis Hendrix


Mem. Plaque

Then & Now

Click here to see larger photos.


Old County Jail


Sheriff's Office & Jail

The Gray County Sheriff's Office would like to thank the following
for their assistance in the completion of this project:

1. Carolyn Law, Chief Deputy of the Gray County Clerk's Office in Pampa Texas.
2. McLean-Alanreed Museum in McLean Texas.
3.John Mead, Lovett Memorial Library in Pampa Texas.
4. The family of Sheriff R.P. Reeves
5. The family of Sheriff Earl Talley and Sheriff Roberta Talley
6. The family of Sheriff C.E. and Sheriff Fannie Pipes
7. Faytie Belle Copeland, daughter of Sheriff W.S. Copeland
8. Randy Stubblefield, former Sheriff of Gray County
9. Herb Smith, owner, Foto Time Shop in Pampa Texas
10. The staff of the Gray County Sheriff's Office

And a special thanks to:

Anne Jordan Davidson, daughter of Sheriff R.H. (Rufe) Jordan, who is also the manager of the White Deer Land Museum in Pampa Texas. Anne spent a lot of time helping with research and digging out old photographs and relaying stories of all the Sheriffs that she had known through her father. Anne is truly a guardian angel of history.  

And most of all to:  

Robbie Stone, assistant manager of the White Deer Land Museum, and the granddaughter of Constable Otis Hendrix. Robbie allowed us to bring back some haunting memories that had cast a spell on her family since her grandfather was murdered. Hopefully, a memorial to her grandfather will help the fact that he had been forgotten and almost lost in history. That mistake will NOT happen again and we hope that we have helped right a wrong that happened in 1939 and took 61 years to correct. Her family's loss was not in vain.

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This page was last updated January 31, 2003.