WOODSTOCK – Formed in 1837 with Henry B. Steele as the first sheriff, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is celebrating its 175th anniversary.
Former Sheriff Art Tyrrell made an appearance Friday at an open house, along with current Sheriff Keith Nygren, the office’s only two living sheriffs.
Nygren, a Republican, jokingly introduced Tyrrell as “the very best Democratic sheriff we’ve ever had.” Tyrrell was sheriff from 1970 to 1979 before resigning in the beginning of his third term.
Nygren, who has said his term, which ends in 2014, will be his last, reflected on the changes the office has seen since the days of the Old Courthouse on the Woodstock Square.
“You talk about a jail, it was a dungeon,” Nygren said.
Tyrrell actually lived next door to the Old Courthouse, and his wife would cook for the inmates.
In 1972, the courthouse moved to its current location on Route 47 and has seen several multimillion-dollar renovations and expansions. Nygren highlighted several other events in the department's history that are mentioned in a book created for the anniversary, "McHenry County Sheriff's Office: Keeping the peace since 1837." An electronic version is available at www.mchenrysheriff.org.
For example, four generations of the Nulle family who have served, starting with Friedrich Theodor Adolph Ludwig “Louis” Nulle, whose great-great-grandson Steven E. Nulle was hired in 2008 as a deputy.
Nygren also recognized two deputies who died while on duty. Kirk L. Schroeder was killed in 1960 in a car crash, and Clarence Bridwell died in 1968 after being struck by a vehicle as he tried to move a fallen tree from the roadway.