The Office of the Sheriff was first established in Virginia in early 1634. On October 9, 1662 the General Court of Virginia issued a commission to Captain Samuel Stephen "to be a Commander of the Southern Plantation" and authorized him to appoint a Sheriff. Although this was Virginia, the "Southern Plantation" was in a part of which would later become North Carolina. Hence, North Carolina has had a Sheriff in existence since 1662.

 The settlers in 1736 thought that one Sheriff for the whole Colony was not enough and that there should be a system of Sheriffs as existed in England and Virginia. So in 1738 the Office of the Sheriff, as it is known today, was created in the Colony of North Carolina by the Governor. The Governor appointed the first Sheriffs in North Carolina to serve two-year terms.

 In 1829 the Sheriff became an elected official while other county and municipal officials did not become elected until 1868. Thus the longest elected official position in North Carolina has been the Sheriff. In 1829 each county was broken down into a Captain's District, a minor division of the county for military purposes. From this time on the Sheriff was the Chief Law Enforcement Officer and for many years with the exception of the militia was the only law enforcement officer.

 In 1881 a Bill was introduced in the N.C. General Assembly that established the County of Durham. The Bill stated "commissioners at their first meeting shall appoint a sheriff, a coroner and constables." The newly formed Board of Commissioners on May 2, 1881 appointed the first Sheriff of Durham County, Jas. R. Blacknall who served from 1881 to 1883. After the appointment of Sheriff Blacknall the following Sheriffs have served the citizens of Durham County: