This Smith & Wesson model 49 no dash, in .38 special, once belonged to Sheriff James Lloyd Holt. Holt was the Sheriff of Washington County Oklahoma for seven consecutive two year terms. He was in Office from 1961-1974.

I was fortunate to find a gentleman who had been a Deputy during Holt’s entire time as Sheriff. When asked about the gun, he thought that it had been presented to Holt after winning one of his Sheriffs elections. He said that the Sheriff was highly respected, and extremely well liked by his community as well as his peers. It was said that he had a certain “presence” about him, and that folks were always on their best behavior when he was around. Holt was known for wearing his cowboy hat, white shirt, and khaki pants.

Prior to becoming an Officer of the law, Holt had been a rancher. The Crawford Holt Ranch, 540 acres off the Nowata Road, was created in 1942-45 by HGC & JLH to grow foodstuffs during World War II. It was sold in 1957.

The Washington County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Department was kind enough to provide me with this picture. It was taken in the 1960's when he was Sheriff of Washington Co., Oklahoma.




The Bartlesville-Washington County Oklahoma museum kindly provided me with the following pictures,












I found this picture of the Sheriffs badge where it had sold on Ebay about two years ago. I sure would love to find it one day. If anyone has any leads or information on the badge please let me know. I would also like to obtain a shoulder patch from Sheriff Holts period in office.




The Sheriff’s gun…..












Here is a badge I purchased a few months ago, although I don't know if it is from the same time frame as when Sheriff Holt was in Office.




If anyone has any leads on the badge, or even a Washington County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Department patch I would be much obliged for the information.