Travis County was created Jan. 25, 1840, from Bastrop County and was named for William Barret Travis, commander of the Alamo. The county was organized on Jan. 1, 1840, with Austin as the county seat. Austin was the largest city in the county, but then Travis County included the small town of Abilene and covered 40,000 square miles. Travis County was later divided into 14 separate counties.

There have been 33 officers who have served as sheriff during the history of the county. The following is a listing of those sheriffs and their tenure.