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Office: Holt County Emergency Management – 108 South Main St, PO Box 316, Oregon, MO 64473 | (660) 254-0018.
Sheriff: Holt County Sheriff’s Office – 107 South Main St, PO Box 229, Oregon, MO 64473 | (660) 822-3001 or (660) 822-3002 | Fax: (660) 822-3005; Sheriff Tiger Parsons; also serves as the county 911 dispatch point for law enforcement, fire, and EMS.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-29 serves Mound City, Holt County’s largest city, while MO routes serve Oregon, the county seat, in the extreme northwest corner of Missouri along the Missouri River.
Notes: Holt County, organized February 15, 1841, was originally named Nodaway County before being renamed for David Rice Holt (1803-1840), a Missouri state legislator from Platte County. Roughly 4,200 residents across 470 square miles – one of Missouri’s smaller counties by population. Holt County’s original boundaries were far larger, once encompassing all of present-day Atchison County and part of Nodaway County.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Holt County Courthouse – 102 W Nodaway St, Oregon, MO 64473 | (660) 446-3303 | Fax: (660) 446-3353.
Notes: Holt County is genuinely home to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (formerly Squaw Creek NWR), Missouri’s first national wildlife refuge, established in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Spanning roughly 7,350-7,415 acres along the Missouri River floodplain near Mound City, the refuge is internationally recognized – named one of America’s Top 500 Globally Important Bird Areas – and serves as a major chokepoint on the Central Flyway: spring and fall migrations bring as many as 400,000 snow geese and 100,000 ducks, and a record 476 bald eagles were counted during a single 2001 winter survey (the refuge celebrates “Eagle Days” each December). Since spring snow goose migrations first topped one million birds in March 2008, the refuge has drawn nearly 300,000 visitors annually to the Mound City area. Big Lake State Park, adjacent to the county, contains the largest oxbow lake in Missouri and the largest marsh found in any Missouri state park.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Holt County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via holtcounty.org.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the Kansas City or St. Joseph VA clinics; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Mound City Public Library – Mound City, MO 64470; confirm current address/phone via moundcitypubliclibrary.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (with its 10-mile self-guided auto tour and hiking trail up the Loess Hills), Big Lake State Park, and the Mound City Museum (housed in a former railroad depot) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine scale of the snow goose and bald eagle migrations at Loess Bluffs – Missouri’s first national wildlife refuge – is one of the most notable natural facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Holt County Assessor – confirm current contact via holtcounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Mound City Police Department (handles local animal control) – (660) 442-3636 (tips/messages line) or (660) 442-3100 (dispatch).
Holt County Sheriff’s Office – (660) 446-3300 (also listed for animal-related reports).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Holt County – confirm current contact via holtcounty.org.
NOTES: Holt County is the third county in the seventh batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine scale of the migratory bird populations at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge – Missouri’s first national wildlife refuge – is one of the most notable natural facts covered anywhere in this project. 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 Holt County County
Holt County is northwest Missouri’s Missouri River bottomland county – one of the state’s least populous counties, centered on Oregon along the Missouri River floodplain where Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge provides critical migratory bird habitat along the Central Flyway. The county’s rich bottomland soil supports row crop agriculture while the river corridor draws hunters and wildlife watchers.
Oregon (county seat, population ~800) is Holt County’s governmental hub near the Missouri River, a small northwest Missouri community whose courthouse, agricultural economy, and proximity to Squaw Creek NWR define its identity.
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Holt County Assessor at 102 W. Nodaway Street, Oregon, MO 64473, phone 660-446-3321. Missouri property assessed at 19% of true value for residential, 32% for commercial and agricultural land.
Courts & Legal
Holt County Circuit Court at 102 W. Nodaway Street, Oregon, MO 64473, handles probate and civil matters for Holt County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 Main St., Oregon, MO 64473
(660) 446-3303
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Holt County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Holt 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
Holt County Circuit Court, Probate Division 102 West Nodaway Street (mail: P.O. Box 318), Oregon, MO 64473 (660) 446-3301 Holt County is in Missouri’s northwestern corner, seated in Oregon.
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
100 Main St., Oregon, MO 64473
(660) 446-2591
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
100 Main St., Oregon, MO 64473
(660) 446-3303
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MO Dept of Social Services — Holt
(660) 446-2351
Mosaic Life Care — St. Joseph
mosaiclifecare.org (accessible)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Holt County Health Department – confirm current phone via holtcounty.org.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Oregon
Population: 4,500
Area: 453 sq mi
Established: 1841
Public Records
TruthFinder
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