Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1926
First woman elected sheriff in Ohio
Maude Collins was appointed Vinton County sheriff in 1925 after her husband's death and was elected in her own right in 1926. Wikipedia and the Ohio marker call her Ohio's first woman county sheriff.
At a glance
- Year
- 1926
- Place
- McArthur, Vinton County ZIP 45651 · Mcarthur · Vinton County
Why it matters
Opened an elected law-enforcement office in Ohio to women.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Maude Collins is recognized on an Ohio historical marker and by Wikipedia as the first woman elected sheriff in Ohio, in 1926.
The other claims. She first took office by appointment in 1925, and the sources do not rule out an earlier appointed woman elsewhere in Ohio, so 'first sheriff' versus 'first elected sheriff' wording matters.
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.