By Mike Simmons
His ancestors had been in Santa Rosa County since the early 1800s. They were some of the resilient pioneers that moved south and settled in the wild panhandle of Florida. This is where James Augustus McArthur was born on July 5, 1880 to James and Alice McArthur. When he was fifteen years old, he was already employed in log sawing, but he was still living at his parents’ house in Milligan, Florida. Six years later, on March 29, 1906, he married Martha Catherine “Kate” Wilkinson, whose family was also from Santa Rosa County. They sat up house near his parents in Milligan. Two years later, Kate gave birth to a son, James Alta McArthur. Then came Murray, Monteze, and Kathleen.
In 1915, the county of Okaloosa was made out of parts of Santa Rosa and Walton Counties. It was a new day…but it didn’t last long. On June 8, 1918, James boarded the U.S.S Ticonderoga and sailed to Jersey City, N.J. in the U.S. Army to fight in the first World War.
IN 1920, though, James was back home to his family. They purchased a home in Milligan, and James worked as a logging supervisor. Ten years later, in 1930, the family had moved to a home in Crestview, Florida.
When the county was formed, B.H. Sutton became the first sheriff, followed by John Summerlin, P.J. Steel, and L.H. Hughes. Then, in early 1933, John P. Steele became the new sheriff. He immediately named James McArthur as his chief deputy. The two men made quite a team. They learned to rely on and trust each other.
On March 1, 1933, the Pensacola News Journal reported that Sheriff Steele and James McArthur arrested 29-year-old George Atwell in the eastern part of the county. For the trip back to the jail in Crestview, Sheriff Steele got into the driver’s seat while Chief Deputy got into the back seat with Atwell to guard him from escaping. On the way back,
Atwell said to Steele, “Say, Sheriff, there’s something wrong with this man!” McArthur had suffered a heart attack and slumped onto Atwell’s shoulder. A short time later, he was declared dead at the hospital. He was buried in “Garden of Memories” Cemetery.
The November 2, 1950 edition of the Pensacola News Journal reported that Governor Warren accepted the resignation of Okaloosa County Sheriff Ferrin C. Campbell. He immediately named James Alta McArthur – son of Chief Deputy James McArthur – as the new sheriff. McArthur, a project engineer with the state road department, is a WWII veteran. He is married and has two children.
Rest in peace, Chief McArthur
Great story, thank you to the McArthur’s..!!!