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Missouri County
Benton County, Missouri
Warsaw's Truman Lake gateway and the Osage River valley - from Warsaw's position as the primary gateway community for Harry S Truman Lake (the 55,600-acre reservoir's dam and visitor center are near Warsaw, and the city's marinas, boat ramps, and fishing services make it the functional hub of Truman Lake recreation) to Cole Camp's German immigrant heritage (one of Missouri's most concentrated German settlement communities, established by 1840s immigrants who maintained German language, Lutheran churches, and cultural traditions well into the 20th century) and Benton County's Civil War massacre at Cole Camp.
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Office: Benton County Emergency Management – 1231 Hirsch Parkway, PO Box 852, Warsaw, MO 65355 | (660) 438-9555 | Fax: (660) 438-8413.
Dispatch: Benton County Central Dispatch (911) – 1231 Hirsch Parkway, PO Box 999, Warsaw, MO 65355 | Fax: (660) 438-6012; also handles 911 addressing applications, Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Sheriff: Benton County Sheriff’s Office – 1620 E. Main Street, Warsaw, MO 65355 | (660) 438-6135 | Non-emergency 24-hr line (660) 438-5252 | Fax: (660) 438-3053.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MO-7 and US-65 serve Warsaw, the county seat, in west-central Missouri.
Notes: Benton County, organized January 3, 1835, is named for U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. Roughly 19,400-20,500 residents across 753 square miles. Warsaw itself was named for Warsaw, the capital of Poland, in honor of Revolutionary War hero Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish general who fought for American independence.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Benton County Courthouse – 316 Van Buren, Warsaw, MO 65355; building permits for county projects are handled through the Benton County Building Department – contact directly for current fees and processing times.
Notes: Benton County is genuinely home to the Harry S. Truman Dam and Reservoir (Truman Lake), one of the largest reservoirs in the central United States. The dam, an earth/rockfill gravity structure roughly 5,000 feet long and 98 feet high, was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, commissioned in 1978, and originally named Kaysinger Bluff Dam before being renamed for President Truman. Truman Lake’s surface area of 55,600 acres (with a 958-mile shoreline) extends into neighboring Henry, St. Clair, and Hickory Counties. Warsaw also sits at the uppermost reaches of the Lake of the Ozarks on its southwest side, giving the county access to two major lake systems. Warsaw was historically a steamboat port, the farthest point navigable up the Osage River.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Benton County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via bentoncomo.com.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital (Columbia) or Kansas City VA Medical Center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Warsaw Branch Library (Boonslick Regional Library) – 102 East Jackson St, Warsaw, MO 65355 | (660) 827-READ (Option 4) | Hours: Mon-Sat 9 AM-5:30 PM; also serves as a designated extreme-heat cooling center.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Harry S. Truman Dam and Reservoir, Harry S. Truman State Park, the Truman Lake Mountain Bike Park, Shawnee Bend Public Use Area, and the Benton County Museum are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine scale of Truman Dam and Reservoir, and the story behind Warsaw’s Polish namesake, are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Benton County Assessor – confirm current contact via bentoncomo.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Sources conflict on county-run shelter availability: some listings reference a “Benton County Animal Shelter,” while River Hill Animal Rescue, a private no-kill rescue serving Benton County and surrounding areas, states directly that “there is no public animal shelter in this area” and operates as an all-volunteer alternative (adoption fees $65-$85 for dogs, $25 for cats, including spay/neuter). Confirm current status directly via bentoncomo.com or the Sheriff’s Office before relying on either option.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Benton County – confirm current contact via bentoncomo.com.
NOTES: Benton County is the eighth county in the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo, opening the second batch. The genuine scale of Truman Dam and Reservoir, and Warsaw’s Polish namesake honoring Tadeusz Kościuszko, are distinctive local facts. Conflicting reports on county animal shelter availability are flagged honestly rather than resolved by guessing. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Benton County
Benton County is west-central Missouri’s Truman Lake gateway and German heritage county – a community whose recreational lake and immigrant cultural traditions define its identity.
Warsaw (the county seat, population ~2,200) serves as the primary access point for Harry S Truman Lake – the Kaysinger Bluff Dam visitor area, boat ramps, and fishing services attract anglers and boaters to one of Missouri’s largest reservoirs.
Cole Camp’s German immigrant community – established in the 1840s – maintained distinctive cultural traditions for generations. The 1861 Cole Camp Massacre, in which pro-Confederate Home Guards attacked a Union German immigrant encampment, was one of the Civil War’s early atrocities and reflected the ethnic and political tensions in immigrant Missouri communities.
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Benton County Assessor at 316 Van Buren Street, Suite 1, Warsaw, MO 65355, phone 660-438-7721. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value. Appeal to Board of Equalization.
Courts & Legal
Benton County Circuit Court at 316 Van Buren Street, Warsaw, MO 65355, phone 660-438-7712, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
316 Van Buren St., Warsaw, MO 65355
(660) 438-7712
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Benton County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Warsaw sits on the Osage River and at the uppermost reaches of Lake of the Ozarks, a major regional draw.
Local societies
No dedicated Benton County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Benton County Circuit Court, Probate Division 316 Van Buren Street (mail: P.O. Box 37), Warsaw, MO 65355 (660) 438-7712
Benton County was founded January 3, 1835, named for U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, in west-central Missouri near Lake of the Ozarks, seated in Warsaw.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
316 Van Buren St., Warsaw, MO 65355
(660) 438-5012
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
316 Van Buren St., Warsaw, MO 65355
(660) 438-7712
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MO Dept of Social Services — Benton
(660) 438-5121
Bothwell Regional Health Center
bothwellhealth.com (Sedalia — accessible major hospital)
Warsaw Medical Center
warsawmedical.com (Warsaw — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Benton County Health Department – confirm current phone via bentoncomo.com.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Warsaw
Population: 19,000
Area: 706 sq mi
Established: 1835
Tier: 3
Public Records
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