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Office: Putnam County Emergency Management – 1601 Main Street Room 101, Unionville, MO 63565 | (660) 947-2674 | Email: [email protected]; operates 24-hour coordination for natural/manmade disasters, including sandbag and water-diversion resources.
Sheriff: Putnam County Sheriff’s Office – Courthouse Room 0101, Unionville, MO 63565 | Non-emergency (660) 947-2515 | Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-4:30 PM; a small agency of roughly 3 officers serving about 5,200 residents, offering fingerprinting, CCW permits, and sex offender registration.
City Police: Unionville Police Department – non-emergency (660) 947-3200; Police Chief Josh Mathes, 2 full-time officers patrolling 2.00 square miles.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-136 and MO-5 serve Unionville, the county seat and largest city, in north-central Missouri.
Notes: Putnam County, organized February 28, 1845, is named for Israel Putnam, a hero of the American Revolutionary War. Roughly 4,550-4,680 residents across 520 square miles of rolling hills, rivers, and lakes.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Putnam County Courthouse – Main Street #204, Unionville, MO 63565 | (660) 947-2674.
Notes: Putnam County has two genuinely notable and unusual local-history threads. The county was home to the first Schaeffer Pen Company and to Putnam Fadeless Dyes, both documented in the county historical museum alongside artifacts like an antique Limoges punch bowl, a horse-drawn hearse, and coal-mining memorabilia. The museum also holds a collection of items recovered from the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 11 in Putnam County on May 22, 1962, presented factually as a documented piece of local and aviation history.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Putnam County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via nemr.net/~putco/.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Kirksville VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Putnam County Public Library – 115 S. 16th Street, Unionville, MO 63565 | (660) 947-3192 | Hours: Mon 9 AM-7 PM, Tue-Fri 9 AM-5 PM, Sat 9 AM-12 PM, closed Sun; over 35,000 books, extensive genealogy holdings, a private conference room, and a children’s area with STEM kits; expanded and modernized in 2018.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Putnam County Historical Museum (Schaeffer Pen and Putnam Fadeless Dyes memorabilia, Flight 11 artifacts) and the county’s rolling rural landscape with rivers and lakes are the county’s primary points of local interest.
Notes: The genuine Schaeffer Pen Company origin story is a distinctive local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Putnam County Assessor – (660) 947-3900.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Putnam County Animal Hospital – 16840 State Hwy 5, Unionville, MO | (660) 947-2015.
Unionville Vet Clinic – 312 N 27th St, Unionville, MO | (660) 947-4040.
No dedicated countywide animal shelter was confirmed beyond these veterinary clinics – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. Confirm current options via the Sheriff’s Office, (660) 947-2515.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Putnam County – confirm current contact via nemr.net/~putco/.
NOTES: Putnam County is the third county in the thirteenth batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine Schaeffer Pen Company origin story is a distinctive local fact, and the absence of a dedicated animal shelter is flagged honestly per this project’s standard. 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 Putnam County County
Putnam County is north Missouri’s Chariton River headwaters and remote cattle country – the source of one of north Missouri’s major river systems and the rolling grain and beef cattle farming landscape define a small community where Unionville serves the surrounding agricultural population at the Iowa border.
Unionville (the county seat, population ~1,700) is Putnam County’s governmental hub on US 136 near the Iowa border, a small north Missouri agricultural community whose cattle economy and courthouse anchor its identity in one of Missouri’s most remote corners.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Putnam County Assessor at 1400 Main Street, Unionville, MO 63565, phone 660-947-2674. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Putnam County Circuit Court at 1400 Main Street, Unionville, MO 63565, phone 660-947-2674, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1601 Main St., Unionville, MO 63565
(660) 947-2674
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Putnam County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Putnam 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
Putnam County Circuit Court, Probate Division 1601 West Main Street, Room 204, Unionville, MO 63565 (660) 947-2071 Putnam County is in Missouri’s northern border region, seated in Unionville.
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
1601 Main St., Unionville, MO 63565
(660) 947-3335
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
1601 Main St., Unionville, MO 63565
(660) 947-2674
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Putnam County Health Department – confirm current phone via putnamcohealthdept.org.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Unionville
Population: 4,600
Area: 519 sq mi
Established: 1845
Public Records
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