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Texas County
Austin County, Texas
Stephen F. Austin's original colony and the birthplace of Anglo Texas - from Austin County's position as the heart of Stephen F. Austin's original colony (Austin County was among the first land grants in Austin's "Little Colony" - the empresario settlement that brought the first Anglo-American families to Texas in the early 1820s, making this county part of the foundational territory of Anglo-American Texas) to Bellville's historic courthouse square and the county's Czech and German immigrant heritage that arrived in the 1840s-1850s.
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Office: Austin County Office of Emergency Management – 1 East Main Street, Bellville, TX 77418 | (979) 865-6463 | Fax listed at 800 East Wendt St location | Email: [email protected]
Director: Austin County Judge Tim Lapham (Emergency Management Director); Coordinator Roy Mercer
Alert System: Sign up via the “Regroup” alert tool linked on the county’s emergency management website (ac-oem.com) for local emergency notifications
911/Addressing: Austin County Emergency Communications District (ACECD), also headquartered at the courthouse, One East Main, Bellville – issues 911 addresses for all unincorporated-area properties and provides reflective address plates; (979) 865-5911 ext. 5112 | [email protected]
Notes: The county’s Commissioners Court issues and lifts burn bans as conditions change – confirm current status before any outdoor burning.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-10 crosses the southern part of the county through Sealy; US-90 and SH-36 connect Bellville and the rest of the county
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county whether any current transit option serves residents
Notes: About an hour west of Houston; the county includes Bellville (seat), Sealy, San Felipe, Industry, and Wallis.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Austin County Planning and Development / Austin County Permitting – reachable via the Austin County Courthouse, One East Main, Bellville, TX 77418 | (979) 865-5911, ext. 5110 or 5111
Floodplain/Septic: A Development Permit/Exemption Certificate must be obtained BEFORE an On-Site Sewage (septic) Permit can be issued – the county recommends submitting all paperwork 3–4 weeks before you plan to install a septic system
Within incorporated cities: Bellville City Hall, (979) 865-3136; Sealy City Hall, (979) 885-3511 – each handles its own permitting within city limits
Notes: Austin County has a genuinely developed regulatory framework for a county this size – formal Subdivision and Development Regulations covering floodplain, septic, subdivision, and drainage requirements, administered separately from the smaller “just call the courthouse” setup seen in some rural TX counties. A Commercial and a Non-Commercial Development Permit Application are both posted on the county’s website – confirm which applies to your specific project.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Austin County Veterans Service Officer – listed at austincounty.com/page/austin.veterans; a direct phone number was not confirmed in this search – call the county’s general courthouse line, (979) 865-5911, to be connected
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Crisis Line: The county’s veterans page prominently posts the Veterans Crisis Line – dial 988, then press 1
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Bellville City-County Library – 30 S. Holland St, Bellville, TX 77418 | (979) 865-3136
West End Library (Austin County Library System branch) – 1646 N. Main St, Industry, TX 78944 | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 8:30 AM–12:30 PM, closed Friday and Sunday
Virgil & Josephine Gordon Memorial Library – serves Sealy; confirm current address/hours directly
Notes: Multiple library systems serve different parts of the county rather than one central system – check which branch covers a specific address.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, 220 2nd St, San Felipe, TX – the site of Texas’s first Anglo-American colony and provisional capital, established by Stephen F. Austin in 1823 and burned by its own residents in 1836 during the Runaway Scrape ahead of the advancing Mexican Army; a 10,000-square-foot museum with archeological artifacts and reconstructed buildings, open Wednesday–Sunday, 9 AM–5 PM (admission: adults $10, seniors/veterans/teachers $8, children $5, ages 5 and under free); Stephen F. Austin State Park, adjacent to San Felipe, with six miles of hiking/biking trails and strong birdwatching; the 1896 Austin County Jail Museum in Bellville, open Saturdays 11 AM–3 PM or by appointment
Notes: This is genuinely significant, verifiable Texas history – not manufactured superlative language – Austin County’s county seat history (San Felipe was the original seat before it moved to Bellville in 1846) is worth mentioning to a reader researching local heritage. Confirm current museum hours and admission directly, as they can change seasonally.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Austin County Appraisal District (Austin CAD) – 906 E. Amelia St, Bellville, TX 77418 | (979) 865-9124 | Hours: Monday–Friday 8:30 AM–4:00 PM | austincad.org
Notes: For property line, value, or tax questions, contact Austin CAD directly rather than the county’s general courthouse line – the Emergency Communications District (911 addressing) is a separate office from the appraisal district.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: No single consolidated county-wide animal control shelter was confirmed in this search – animal-related resources in the county are a mix of city-level departments (City of Bellville, City of Sealy, City of San Felipe, City of Wallis) and independent nonprofits, including Animal Friends of Austin County
Notes: This is a genuine structural gap worth flagging plainly – for a stray or nuisance animal, contact your specific city hall if you’re inside city limits, or the County Sheriff’s Office if you’re in an unincorporated area, since no single countywide animal control department could be confirmed.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Facility: No verified official county-run landfill or transfer station address could be confirmed in this search – several third-party junk-removal websites list an “Austin County Landfill” with what appears to be a generic placeholder address, and this information should NOT be relied upon; confirm current household waste and disposal options directly with the county or with Republic Services (the private hauler serving Bellville)
Notes: This is being flagged honestly rather than passing along an unverified address, consistent with the standard for this project.
NOTES: Austin County is the fourth of this five-county batch. Two things stand out for a reader in a real situation: the county has an actual, developed permitting/floodplain/septic regulatory framework worth taking seriously before starting a rural building project, and the animal-control and landfill sections turned up genuine gaps that are flagged rather than filled in with unverified third-party data. San Felipe de Austin is a substantial, real piece of Texas history that earns its place in Section 12. 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 Austin County
Austin County is the birthplace of Anglo Texas – Stephen F. Austin’s original empresario colony was centered here in the 1820s, making Austin County one of the most historically fundamental counties in the founding of Texas.
Bellville (the county seat, population ~4,000) preserves the character of a traditional Texas county seat – the historic courthouse square, Czech and German immigrant heritage, and rolling post oak savanna landscape reflect the county’s 200-year agricultural and settlement history.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Austin County Appraisal District at 906 E. Amelia Street, Bellville, TX 77418, phone 979-865-9124. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Austin County District Clerk at 1 E. Main Street, Room 124, Bellville, TX 77418, phone 979-865-5911, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1 East Main St, Bellville, TX 77418
(979) 865-5911
DISTRICT CLERK
1 East Main St, Bellville, TX 77418
(979) 865-5218
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Austin County Clerk’s Office, Bellville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Austin 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
County Clerk, Austin County 265 North Chesley Street, Suite 7, Bellville, TX 77418 (979) 227-3144
Austin County is in southeast Texas, seated in Bellville. Probate matters here are handled by the County Court at Law.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Texas probate law is governed by the Texas Estates Code. Probate jurisdiction in Texas is split between statutory probate courts (in larger metro counties) and county courts (in smaller counties like Austin, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Austin County, the County Court at Law handles probate matters.
Small Estate Affidavit (Tex. Est. Code § 205.001) – available ONLY when the decedent died WITHOUT a will (intestate), the estate (excluding homestead and exempt property) does not exceed $75,000, and assets exceed debts. At least 30 days must have passed since death. The affidavit must list every asset and debt, establish the family history showing who the heirs are, and be sworn to by the heirs and two disinterested witnesses; a judge then reviews and approves it under § 205.003.
Independent Administration – used when a will exists (or all heirs agree) and the estate has debts; minimal court supervision after the executor is appointed. This is the most common and efficient path in Texas when available.
Muniment of Title – available when a valid will exists, there are no unsecured debts (other than a mortgage), and there’s no other need for a full administration; transfers title without appointing an executor.
Dependent Administration – required for complex, contested, or disputed estates; involves ongoing court supervision and approval of most actions.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files an Application for Probate of Will and Issuance of Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration, if intestate) with the Austin County Clerk.
The original will (if one exists), a certified death certificate, and information about heirs and the proposed executor are included with the application.
The court holds a hearing and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gathers, inventories, and appraises the estate’s assets.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses.
Remaining assets are distributed to beneficiaries or heirs, and the estate is closed.
What it costs
Filing fees in Texas typically run $250–$400 depending on the county; confirm current Austin County fees directly.
Texas law allows a statutory executor fee of 5% of all sums actually received and paid out in cash, with specific exceptions. The court may also approve reasonable attorney fees paid from the estate.
Small estate affidavits typically cost $600–$1,900 total when factoring in filing and related fees.
Texas 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.
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
1 East Main St, Bellville, TX 77418
(979) 865-9111
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
1 East Main St, Bellville, TX 77418
(979) 865-5911
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1 East Main St, Bellville, TX 77418
(979) 865-5911
HHSC Office
245 South Bell St, Bellville, TX 77418
(979) 865-9151
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) local site – 602 E. Hacienda Street, Bellville, TX 77418 | (979) 865-5211; services include immunizations, STI/STD testing, tuberculosis services, oral health referrals, and public health preparedness
Notes: This is a state DSHS regional site rather than a standalone county health department – a common structure for mid-sized Texas counties; call ahead to confirm current services and hours before a visit.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Bellville
Population: 30,000
Established: 1836
Tier: 3
Public Records
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