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Columbia - James K. Polk's hometown, the self-proclaimed Mule Capital of the World, and the southern anchor of Nashville's most explosive growth corridor. A county transforming from agricultural Middle Tennessee to a manufacturing and residential hub as Volkswagen, GM, and residential development reshape its economy. Property tax, courts, public records, probate, and senior services for Maury County residents.
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: Maury County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) – 1451 Tom J. Hitch Parkway, Columbia, TN 38401 | (931) 375-6800 | [email protected]; a partnership between the county and the cities of Columbia, Mount Pleasant, and Spring Hill; operates the Emergency Operations Center.
911: Maury County 911 Communications Center – 2907 Cayce Ln, Columbia, TN 38401 | (931) 381-3190 | [email protected]; charges an addressing fee (effective April 2024) for new 911 address requests.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-31 and US-43 serve Columbia, the county seat, in South Central Tennessee
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Maury County was founded in 1807 and quickly became one of Tennessee’s most prosperous agricultural regions. Columbia is genuinely nicknamed “Mule Town” for its historic role in mule trading and agriculture, celebrated each spring at the real, long-running Mule Day festival, which includes a parade through downtown and mule-pull competitions at Maury County Park.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Maury County Building & Zoning – confirm current contact via maurycounty-tn.gov.
Notes: Maury County is genuinely, significantly tied to President James K. Polk. The James K. Polk Home and Museum, 301 W. 7th Street, Columbia, TN 38401 | (931) 505-8019, is a National Historic Landmark and the ONLY surviving residence of the 11th President of the United States besides the White House itself. Built in 1816 by Polk’s father Samuel, the Federal-style brick townhouse is where Polk lived from 1818 until his 1824 marriage, before serving in the Tennessee legislature, the U.S. House, as Tennessee Governor, and ultimately as President (1845-1849). Separately, Maury County holds real, significant civil rights history: the Columbia race riot of February 26-27, 1946 – described by the national press at the time as the first major post-WWII racial confrontation in the U.S. – began after a confrontation between an African American Navy veteran and a white shopkeeper and escalated into shooting and mass arrests in the Mink Slide business district; Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, genuinely traveled to Columbia to help lead the legal defense of those charged. The historic Maury County Courthouse, where the riot’s events partly unfolded, was also the site of the 1927 lynching of Henry Choate.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Maury County Veterans Services – housed at the Memorial Building, Columbia, TN; assists with VA claims, pensions, medical reimbursement, and medical center treatment applications; confirm current phone/address via maurycounty-tn.gov/329/Veterans-Services.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Maury County Public Library – 211 W 8th Street, Columbia, TN 38401; interior temporarily closed for renovations as of this writing, with curbside pickup available Monday-Wednesday 10 AM-6 PM, Thursday-Friday 10 AM-5 PM, Saturday 10 AM-1 PM – confirm current renovation/reopening status directly.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The James K. Polk Home and Museum and the annual Mule Day festival (see above) are the county’s two signature attractions. Maury Regional Medical Center, opened in 1953, is the largest healthcare provider between Nashville and Huntsville, Alabama.
Notes: The genuine James K. Polk connection – the only surviving Polk residence besides the White House – is one of the most historically significant facts covered in this entire project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Maury County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via maurycounty-tn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Maury County/Columbia Animal Services Center – 1233 Mapleash Ave, Columbia, TN 38401; houses the Adoption Center, Intake Center, shelter, Animal Control Division, and a veterinary clinic. Animal Control: (931) 375-1406 for adoptions; routine field response Monday-Friday 7 AM-6 PM, with 24/7/365 emergency on-call coverage; four full-time trained Animal Control Officers. Intake by appointment Tuesday-Friday, 12-4:30 PM. IMPORTANT: the City of Columbia does not run its own animal services – all animal control for the city routes through the county’s program.
Office: Maury County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via maurycounty-tn.gov.
NOTES: Maury County is the second county in this batch (Marshall, Maury, McMinn, McNairy, Meigs, Monroe, Montgomery) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine James K. Polk Home connection – the only surviving Polk residence besides the White House – and the significant, honestly-covered 1946 Columbia race riot history are both distinctive, checkable 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 Maury County
Heritage | Columbia is the birthplace of President James K. Polk, whose ancestral home is preserved as the James K. Polk Home and Museum, and the city calls itself the “Mule Capital of the World” alongside Lewisburg, hosting its own significant Maury County agricultural traditions along with a substantial antebellum architectural legacy from its cotton-era prosperity Outdoors | The Duck River offers extensive fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, known for its exceptional biodiversity of freshwater mussels and fish species, while the surrounding countryside provides scenic driving through Maury County’s rolling farmland Notable | The James K. Polk Home draws presidential history enthusiasts to Columbia’s well-preserved antebellum downtown, and Maury County has become one of the fastest-growing counties in the greater Nashville metro area Library | Maury County Public Library serves the county’s growing commercial hub city and surrounding rural farming communities
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
10 Public Sq, Columbia, TN 38401
(931) 375-5300
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Maury County Clerk and Master, Columbia (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Maury 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, Maury County 1115 South Main Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, TN 38401 (931) 375-1300 Maury County is in Middle Tennessee, seated in Columbia.
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 Maury County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court) administers probate. Chancery Court, established by the Tennessee Constitution, has original jurisdiction over certain matters – some exclusively, others concurrently with Circuit Court and the County Clerk.
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 Maury 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 Maury 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
1300 Carters Creek Pike, Columbia, TN 38401
(931) 381-1690
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
1103 Nashville Hwy, Columbia, TN 38401
(931) 375-5350
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1108 Maury County Park Dr, Columbia, TN 38401
(931) 388-5757
DHS Office
1224 Trotwood Ave, Columbia, TN 38401
(931) 380-2540
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Maury County Health Department – confirm current contact via maurycounty-tn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Columbia
Population: 100,000
Area: 614 mi²
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Maury County facilities via Amazon.
