# Jesse Taylor *Name of the first sheriff of Washington County, Minnesota (1849), and the name of a firm the at-issue record links to the territorial prison; whether they are the same man is unresolved.* Jesse Taylor was the first [[sheriff]] of Washington County, [[Minnesota]]. The Washington County Historical Society timeline lists him among the county officers of November 26, 1849.[^1] The project's at-issue record also states that the territorial prison was built in 1851–53 by "the Jesse Taylor Company." The record flags that statement as unverified.[^2] The record does not establish whether the sheriff and the firm's namesake are the same man. The at-issue entry treats the matter as an open question, not a finding. It ranks the question as the most valuable unanswered item in the county's founding file.[^2] ## Who The Historical Society timeline lists the first Washington County officers as of November 26, 1849:[^1] - Commissioners John McKusick, Hiram Berkey and Joseph Haskell - Treasurer Socrates Nelson - Register of Deeds John S. Proctor - Judge of Probate Harvey Wilson - "Sheriff Jesse Taylor" The at-issue entry gives the same date as the date of Taylor's election as sheriff.[^2] The name appears a second time as a firm, "the Jesse Taylor Company." The at-issue entry names that firm as the builder of the territorial prison in 1851–53. The entry lists a single source for this statement, a construction record hosted on en.wikipedia.org, and flags it as unverified.[^2] The Historical Society timeline excerpt in the project's dossier records the prison's site selection and its first warden, but it does not name the builder.[^1] The record gives no description of the firm's organization or members. It also offers no documentary link between the firm and the sheriff.[^2] ## In the at-issue record At-issue entry AI-Washington-055 appears in the Washington package, in the section *The Referral Architecture & the County That Got the Prison Edition*. It pairs the 1849 sheriff entry with the 1851–53 prison-construction entry. The entry carries rank 55 and shock score 67, and it is tagged as an unresolved, high-priority lead. Its flag reads that it is stated "as an open question, not a finding."[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - First sheriff of Washington County, listed among the first county officers on November 26, 1849.[^1] - The at-issue record names "the Jesse Taylor Company" as the territorial prison's builder. This attribution is unverified, and its identity with the sheriff is unresolved.[^2] ### When - December 20, 1847: John McKusick deeded the courthouse land to the City of [[Stillwater]].[^1] - November 26, 1849: First county officers, including Sheriff Jesse Taylor.[^1] - May 23, 1851: The Board of Commissioners of Public Buildings selected four acres for the Minnesota Territorial Prison.[^1] - March 4, 1852: Francis R. Delano was named the prison's first warden.[^1] - 1851–53: Prison construction, attributed by the at-issue record to "the Jesse Taylor Company." This attribution is unverified.[^2] ### Where - Washington County, Minnesota, including the courthouse land at Stillwater and the four-acre territorial prison site.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Washington County Historical Society, *Timeline* (undated) — lists the first county officers of November 26, 1849, including "Sheriff Jesse Taylor"; records the May 23, 1851 selection of four acres for the Minnesota Territorial Prison, the March 4, 1852 naming of Francis R. Delano as first warden, and McKusick's December 20, 1847 deed of courthouse land to Stillwater. https://www.wchsmn.org/timeline/ [^2]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record AI-Washington-055 (Washington package, *The Referral Architecture & the County That Got the Prison Edition*), anchored to the Washington County Historical Society timeline — states that the first sheriff, elected November 26, 1849, was Jesse Taylor; that the prison was built in 1851–53 by "the Jesse Taylor Company" (one source, a construction record on en.wikipedia.org); and that their identity is unresolved. Flagged UNVERIFIED. https://www.wchsmn.org/timeline/