Eldon Moyers

January 1, 1973, to December 31, 1976

Eldon Moyers was born on February 11, 1923, in Ranger, Texas. He came to Wise County as a young man, and attended school in Decatur. He left school and joined the navy. He served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He retired from the Navy with thirty-seven years in the service.

Moyers worked as a police officer for the Fort Worth Police Department for twelve and a half-years. He left the department to return to the navy.

He was elected on November 7, 1972, and served until January 1, 1977. During his administration, a new jail was built. The new jail was located on the northeast corner of the square. In the early seventies, the state announced that many jails were classified as inadequate, this included Wise County. At the time of this announcement, J.R. Branch and his family were living in the jail that was built in 1883. The mortar between the bricks was so decayed that it could be scraped away with a fingernail.

Funding for the jail was allocated and in 1973, and an architectural firm out of Fort Worth was contacted to design it. Plans were presented and they included not only the jail and the sheriff's department but they also had added space for four other departments as well. The commissioner's reviewed the plans and made the decision that they were not feasible. Therefore, the commissioner's made the decision to build only a jail, which would include office space for the sheriff's department, and living quarters for the sheriff and his family.

The new jail cost $585,000.00. It opened on April 4, 1979. The only two sheriff's to live in the second jail were Moyers and Rook Ramsey.

In addition, while in office, Moyers added a modern radio system and a Teletype machine.