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Office: Houston County Emergency Management Agency – Director Bill Hall | 2400 West Main Street, Erin, TN 37061 | (931) 627-5585 or (931) 534-0894 | [email protected]; under the direction of the County Mayor, originally established in the late 1960s as a Civil Defense agency during the Cold War.
911: Houston County 911 – 2400 W Main St, Erin, TN 37061 | Emergency: 911 | Non-emergency: (931) 289-2911; a consolidated center dispatching for the Sheriff’s Office, Erin PD/Fire, Tennessee Ridge Fire, and Houston County EMS.
Fire: Erin Fire Department – Chief Danny Warren | 15 Hill Street, Erin, TN 37061 | (931) 289-4019
Roads: SH-13 and SH-49 serve Erin, the county seat, in Middle Tennessee on the Tennessee River
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Houston County was established in 1871 from parts of Stewart, Humphreys, Montgomery, and Dickson counties, named for Sam Houston, Tennessee governor and Texas independence hero.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Houston County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via explorehoustoncountytn.com.
Notes: Erin, the county seat, is genuinely and distinctively Irish-themed – nicknamed “Irish Town Tennessee” and “The Shamrock City.” Local legend holds that 19th-century Irish railroad workers, having “a wee too much to drink,” decided the area resembled their beloved homeland and named it Erin (a poetic name for Ireland). Since 1962, the town has held a real weeklong Irish festival every March, culminating in a parade on the third Saturday – described as one of the top ten celebrations of its kind in the U.S., with a carnival, over 150 craft/food vendors, live entertainment, and a beer garden, honoring the Irish railroad workers who helped connect Erin to the wider world.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Houston County Veterans Service Office – 1163 Highway 49, Erin, TN 37061 (also referenced at the Jimmie Ross Veterans Center, 1157 TN-49, Tennessee Ridge); confirm current officer name/hours via explorehoustoncountytn.com.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Houston County Public Library – Director Robbie Higgins | 24 S. Spring Street, PO Box 183, Erin, TN 37061-0183 | (931) 289-3858; serves roughly 8,300 residents with a collection of over 27,000 volumes. NAMING TRAP: do not confuse with the much larger, unrelated Houston County Public Library System in Georgia (Perry, GA area).
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The annual Irish Day Celebration (see above) is the county’s signature heritage event. Erin’s real two-mile greenbelt walking trail, a town park, and the L&N Railroad Memorial Pavilion (on an abandoned stretch of the former Louisville & Nashville Railroad) are additional local landmarks. Three boat launches provide access to the Tennessee River. The Houston County Archives & Museum – Certified Archives Manager Melissa Barker | Houston County Courthouse Basement, 4725 E Main Street, Erin, TN 37061 | (931) 289-4839 | Hours: Monday-Friday 8 AM-4:30 PM (closed 12-1 PM) – preserves 150+ years of county records and history.
Notes: The genuine, well-documented Irish heritage of Erin is one of the most distinctive local facts covered in this entire project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Houston County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via explorehoustoncountytn.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: No confirmed dedicated county-run animal shelter was found for Houston County in this search – searches for area animal shelters returned results based in neighboring counties (Benton, Humphreys, Montgomery) rather than a Houston County-specific facility. Confirm current animal control arrangements directly with the County Mayor’s office or Sheriff’s Office.
Notes: This is an honestly-flagged possible service gap – please verify directly before relying on this section.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Houston County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via explorehoustoncountytn.com.
NOTES: Houston County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Hardin, Hawkins, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Houston) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine, distinctive Irish heritage of Erin (“Shamrock City”) is one of the most memorable local facts covered in this entire project; the apparent lack of a dedicated county animal shelter is honestly flagged pending direct confirmation. 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 Houston County County
Houston County is northwest Tennessee’s small Cumberland River and Land Between the Lakes gateway county – one of Tennessee’s least populous counties, Houston County’s rural agricultural character and proximity to the massive national recreation area define a quiet community where Erin provides governmental services to the surrounding farming communities near the Kentucky border.
Erin (the county seat, population ~1,400) is Houston County’s governmental hub, a small northwest Tennessee town serving the county’s rural communities between Clarksville and the Land Between the Lakes recreation area.
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Houston County Assessor of Property at 4954 Main Street, Erin, TN 37061, phone 931-289-3141. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Houston County Circuit Court at 4954 Main Street, Erin, TN 37061, phone 931-289-3141, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
4901 Main St, Erin, TN 37061
(931) 289-3870
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Houston County Clerk and Master, Erin (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Houston 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
Clerk and Master, Houston County 45 East Main Street, Erin, TN 37061 (PO Box 414) Houston County is in Middle Tennessee, seated in Erin.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Tennessee has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Instead, Tennessee uses its own common form and solemn form probate framework, governed by Title 30 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. In Houston County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court) administers probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (T.C.A. §§ 30-4-101 through 30-4-103) – available when the value of the probate estate does not exceed $50,000 (personal property; real property is generally excluded). The affidavit can be filed no sooner than 45 days after death. A bond payable to the state is commonly required to protect creditors and other heirs, though it is often waived when the person filing is the estate’s sole heir/beneficiary, or when all heirs consent in writing.
Common Form Probate – the standard, uncontested path: the will (if any) is admitted to probate without formal notice to all interested parties, and the personal representative is appointed and issued Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Solemn Form Probate – used when formal proof of the will’s validity is needed, typically because of an anticipated will contest; requires notice to all interested parties and a hearing.
Muniment of Title – used to transfer real estate when there is a valid will but no other assets requiring administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files the original will (if one exists) and a Petition for Probate of Will or Petition for Letters of Administration with the Houston County Clerk and Master.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (testate) or Letters of Administration (intestate), giving the personal representative authority to act.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors in a local newspaper; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly around 4 months from the notice) to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets (may be waived by the will or by all beneficiaries).
The personal representative pays valid debts, expenses, and taxes.
The estate is closed with a final accounting (unless waived) and distribution to beneficiaries or heirs.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county; confirm current fees with Houston County directly.
Tennessee has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or executors – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval if contested.
Tennessee does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Typical timeline for a simple, uncontested estate: roughly 6-9 months.
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
4901 Main St, Erin, TN 37061
(931) 289-4143
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
4901 Main St, Erin, TN 37061
(931) 289-3870
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
111 Boyd Dr, Erin, TN 37061
(931) 289-4322
DHS Office
111 Boyd Dr, Erin, TN 37061
(931) 289-4394
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Houston County Health Department – confirm current contact via explorehoustoncountytn.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Erin
Population: 8,300
Public Records
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