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Missouri County
Washington County, Missouri
Missouri's oldest mining county and the lead mining heartland - from Potosi's distinction as the site of Missouri's first significant lead mining operations (French colonial miners worked the lead deposits near Potosi as early as the 1720s - making Washington County one of the oldest mining regions in America west of the Mississippi) to the Missouri Mines State Historic Site near Park Hills preserving the massive Federal Mill complex of the St. Joseph Lead Company and Washington County's extraordinary concentration of old lead mines, smelters, and mining heritage.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: Washington County Emergency Management – 6900 Bill Gum Business Loop, Potosi, MO 63664.
Sheriff: Washington County Sheriff’s Office – 116 West High Street, Potosi, MO 63664 | Non-emergency (573) 438-5478.
City Police: Potosi Police Department – (573) 438-5668 / (573) 438-5468.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MO-8 and MO-21 serve Potosi, the county seat, in the Ozark foothills roughly 60-72 miles southwest of St. Louis.
Notes: Washington County, organized 1813, is one of Missouri’s earliest counties. Potosi was originally founded as Mine à Breton between 1760 and 1780 by French miner Francis Azor, later renamed St. George and finally chartered as “Potosi” in 1799 – after the famous silver-mining city of Potosí, Bolivia.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Washington County Courthouse – Potosi, MO 63664.
Notes: Washington County is genuinely, historically significant as the site of Missouri’s first major industry. Moses Austin arrived in 1797, received a Spanish land grant covering the historic Mine à Breton lead diggings, sank the first mine shaft in Missouri, and built the first reverberatory furnace west of the Mississippi River; he also founded Herculaneum as a lead-shipping depot. In the two decades following 1804, lead produced in Washington County nearly equaled in value the entire cost of the Louisiana Purchase. Austin’s tomb and the foundation of his home, Durham Hall, remain visible today. His son, Stephen F. Austin, carried the family’s ambitions south and founded Austin, Texas – earning Potosi the local nickname “The Cradle of Texas.” The historic Cherokee Trail of Tears passed through this valley in 1837. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Washington County became known as the “Barite Capital of the World.” The Moses Austin Heritage Festival is celebrated annually in downtown Potosi. Multiple sites are NRHP-listed, including the George Cresswell Furnace, the Palmer Historic Mining District, the Washington County Courthouse, and the Washington State Park CCC Historic District.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Washington County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via washingtoncountymo.us.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a St. Louis or Farmington VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Washington County Library (Potosi) – confirm current address/phone via local listings.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Washington State Park (featuring genuine ancient Indian petroglyphs along the Big River), the Moses Austin tomb and Durham Hall foundation, and the historic mining district sites are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Moses Austin/Stephen F. Austin “Cradle of Texas” connection and Missouri’s first-ever industrial mining operation are among the most historically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Washington County Assessor – confirm current contact via washingtoncountymo.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Humane Society of Washington County – confirm current address/phone via hswcmd.org.
Potosi Animal Control – operated by the City of Potosi; boarding fee $10/day; no-refund adoption policy; confirm current contact via potosicity.com.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Washington County – confirm current contact via washingtoncountymo.us.
NOTES: Washington County is the first county in the sixteenth (final) batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine Moses Austin/Stephen F. Austin “Cradle of Texas” connection is one of the most historically significant local 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 Washington County
Washington County is Missouri’s oldest mining county – a southeastern Ozarks community where lead extraction began under French colonial rule in the 1720s, making it one of the longest-continuously mined regions in North America.
Potosi (the county seat, population ~2,600) takes its name from the famous silver mining city in Bolivia – the Missouri lead deposits seemed comparably rich to early miners. The community’s 18th and 19th-century mining heritage is reflected in the landscape of tailings, abandoned mine sites, and historic structures throughout the county.
The Missouri Mines State Historic Site – preserving the Federal Mill complex of the St. Joseph Lead Company – is one of the most significant industrial heritage sites in Missouri, documenting the technology and scale of early 20th-century lead mining.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Washington County Assessor at 102 N. Missouri Street, Suite 6, Potosi, MO 63664, phone 573-438-4992. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value. Appeal to Board of Equalization.
Courts & Legal
Washington County Circuit Court at 102 N. Missouri Street, Potosi, MO 63664, phone 573-438-5522, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
102 N. Missouri St., Potosi, MO 63664
(573) 438-4901
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Washington County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Potosi is a historic lead-mining town, part of Missouri’s Old Lead Belt.
Local societies
No dedicated Washington 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
Washington County Circuit Court, Probate Division 102 North Missouri Street, Potosi, MO 63664 (573) 438-4171
Washington County is in southeastern Missouri, in the Lead Belt/Old Lead Belt Mining District, seated in Potosi.
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
102 N. Missouri St., Potosi, MO 63664
(573) 438-4901
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
102 N. Missouri St., Potosi, MO 63664
(573) 438-4901
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MO Dept of Social Services — Washington
(573) 438-5575
Potosi Regional Medical Center
potosiregional.com (Potosi — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Washington County Health Department – confirm current phone via washingtoncountymo.us.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Potosi
Population: 24,000
Area: 761 sq mi
Established: 1813
Tier: 3
Public Records
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