SHERIFF JOHN P. GALLOWAY

John P. Galloway moved to Marion County in 1896 and ran for Sheriff in 1904. In 1908 he ran for Sheriff of Marion County a second time. In the 1908 election he faced John L. Edwards, Charles Y. Miller, and again J. L. Smoak. This time he was elected Sheriff and was sworn-in January 1907.  

He served three consecutive terms.  Sheriff Galloway had previously served as Lake County Sheriff for ten years and was a well-respected law enforcement officer.  Sheriff Galloway remained Marion County Sheriff until 1921.  During his term, a new courthouse was built in 1907, and a new Jail and Sheriff’s Office was built in 1910.

On December 8, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an order establishing the first national forest east of the Mississippi River.  It was and is known as the Ocala National Forest and includes most of the lands between the Ocklawaha and St. Johns Rivers.  It now encompasses an area of almost one-third of the total land area of Marion County.

On October 5, 1910, at about 3:00 pm Deputy Charlie Smith went to the residence of Will Summerlin in northwest Ocala. (The house stood close to where Howard Middle School stands today) Summerlin had been arrested the day before by another Deputy for carrying a concealed weapon and had escaped, or basically walked away from a non-secure area of the office. 

Deputy Smith went to Will Summerlins’ house with the intent to arrest him. Deputy Smith was met at the door by Summerlin who was in possession of a rifle. There was another unidentified male behind Summerlin with a shotgun. Deputy Smith backed off and called for backup. Deputy William E. Hutson responded and both Deputies attempted to enter the house. As they entered, Summerlin opened fire hitting Hutson immediately, he fell backwards into the yard and Smith backed out and again summoned more help. 

Among the first to arrive was former Sheriff and then-Ocala Police Officer Henry Gordon.  Gordon attempted to enter the house and was shot twice. More armed men arrived and began firing into the house. When the shooting was over, Summerlin was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. 

The other man in the house was believed to be a nephew of Summerlin’s identified only as Harvey. The subsequent investigation revealed that Harvey had left the house before Hutson’s arrival and was not involved in the shooting. Unfortunately, an examination of the scene and the rifles used by Hutson to enter the residence revealed that Hutson apparently failed to load the firearms before making entry.   

William E. Hutson was 42 years old and was survived by his wife and daughter, Louise - age 11.

In 1915, the Florida legislature authorized a correctional institution for girls.  The facility was named the Florida Industrial School for Girls. The facility took over the old site of the Florida Naval Stores prison camp just east of Ocala. It was later named the Alyce D. McPherson School for girls. Today the site is the Marion County Governmental offices with many of the original school buildings housing governmental offices.