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Missouri County
Cedar County, Missouri
Stockton Lake and southwest Missouri recreation - from Stockton Lake (the 24,900-acre Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Sac River is one of Missouri's largest and cleanest lakes, known for exceptional sailing winds that have made it a premier Midwest sailing destination and a popular bass fishing lake) to Cedar County's agricultural landscape (corn, soybean, and cattle operations across the rolling Ozark border terrain define the county's agricultural character between Springfield and Nevada along US 54).
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Office: Cedar County Emergency Management – PO Box 235, Stockton, MO 65785 | (417) 276-1134; Arlo Rupke.
Sheriff: Cedar County Sheriff’s Office – 202 South High Street, Stockton, MO 65785 | (417) 276-5133 ext. 251 | Non-emergency (417) 276-5133 | Fax: (417) 276-5135; Sheriff James McCrary, a Cedar County resident of 47+ years.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MO-32 serves Stockton, the county seat, in southwest Missouri.
Notes: Cedar County offices are largely centered at 113 South St, Stockton, MO 65785 (main county line (417) 276-6700), including the MU Extension office in the courthouse basement.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cedar County Courthouse – 113 South St, Stockton, MO 65785.
Notes: Cedar County is genuinely home to Stockton Lake, one of Missouri’s seven major man-made lakes, formed in 1969 by damming the Sac River. The lake covers roughly 39 square miles (25,000+ acres) with about 298 miles of shoreline and spans Cedar, Dade, and Polk Counties. It operates under a “non-development policy,” keeping its shoreline surrounded by unspoiled, tree-covered hills owned and managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, and is renowned as one of the best sailing and wakeboarding lakes in the Midwest. A pipeline carries Stockton Lake water to Fellows Lake to help supply Springfield, Missouri. Stockton State Park, a 2,176-acre peninsula park on the lake, sits atop archaeological evidence of human habitation dating back roughly 10,000 years, including burial mounds and campsites from several prehistoric cultures, with the earliest known inhabitants identified as “Dalton man” hunter-gatherers.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Cedar County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via cedarcountymo.gov.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital (Columbia) or Springfield VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Cedar County Library – 717 East Highway 32, Stockton, MO 65785; part of the Missouri Evergreen consortium, with an additional branch in El Dorado Springs; confirm current phone/hours via cedarcountylibrary.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Stockton Lake, Stockton State Park (fishing, swimming, scuba diving, sailing, three marinas with over 300 stalls), and the surrounding Sac River valley are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine scale and non-development character of Stockton Lake, along with its 10,000-year archaeological record, are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Cedar County Assessor – confirm current contact via cedarcountymo.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated Cedar County animal shelter was confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. Confirm current options via cedarcountymo.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (417) 276-5133.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Cedar County – confirm current contact via cedarcountymo.gov.
NOTES: Cedar County is the sixth and final county in the third batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine scale of Stockton Lake and its non-development shoreline policy, along with its deep archaeological history, are distinctive local facts. 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 Cedar County
Cedar County is southwest Missouri’s Stockton Lake sailing and agriculture county – the clean, wind-swept reservoir and the county’s rolling farmland define a community where Stockton serves recreational visitors and surrounding farm communities in the Osage River watershed.
Stockton (the county seat, population ~1,900) is Cedar County’s governmental hub on Stockton Lake, a southwest Missouri town whose lake access and courthouse square anchor county life.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Cedar County Assessor at 113 S. Street, Stockton, MO 65785, phone 417-276-3315. MO assessed at percentage of true value.
Courts & Legal
Cedar County Circuit Court at 113 S. Street, Stockton, MO 65785, phone 417-276-3514, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
113 S. Jefferson St., Stockton, MO 65785
(417) 276-3514
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cedar County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Cedar 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
Cedar County Circuit Court, Probate Division 113 South Street (mail: P.O. Box 665), Stockton, MO 65785 (417) 276-6700 ext. 234
Cedar County was founded February 14, 1845, named for Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Sac River, in southwestern Missouri, seated in Stockton (though El Dorado Springs is the county’s largest city).
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
113 S. Jefferson St., Stockton, MO 65785
(417) 276-3316
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
113 S. Jefferson St., Stockton, MO 65785
(417) 276-3514
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Cedar County Health Department – confirm current phone via cedarcountymo.gov.
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