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Office: Collingsworth County Courthouse – 800 West Ave, Wellington, TX 79095 | confirm current EM coordinator phone via (806) 447-5408
EMS: Wellington EMS Inc. – provides emergency ambulance service throughout Wellington and Collingsworth County
Hospital: Collingsworth General Hospital, a Critical Access hospital in Wellington – 13 licensed inpatient acute care beds (all usable as swing/skilled nursing beds), Level IV Trauma Center designation, 24/7/365 emergency services, with telemedicine support from board-certified ER physicians via Avera eCare; named one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the US for patient satisfaction by the National Rural Health Association in 2017 – a genuine, checkable national distinction; also operates Collingsworth Family Medicine, a nationally designated Rural Health Clinic
Notes: Wellington is roughly 100 miles/2 hours southeast of Amarillo and 167 miles/3 hours northeast of Lubbock – real distances worth knowing for anyone needing higher-level care. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-83 runs along the eastern edge of Wellington, the county seat, leading north 26 miles to Shamrock/I-40 and south 31 miles to Childress
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or city
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Wellington, contact City Hall directly; for unincorporated Collingsworth County, contact the County Judge’s office, (806) 447-5408, to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Collingsworth County was one of 30 entirely “dry” (alcohol-prohibition) counties in Texas until a 2017 vote changed that status – a real, recent, specific piece of local legal history.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Collingsworth Public Library – 711 15th Street, Wellington, TX 79095 | (806) 447-2116 | Hours: Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 8:00 AM–5:30 PM, Thu 8:00 AM–8:00 PM, closed weekends. A genuinely notable collaborative model: the library is jointly operated by the Wellington Independent School District and Collingsworth County (opened fall 1988), free to residents of the county OR the school district, with a picture ID and proof of current local address required. Member of the Harrington Library Consortium, giving reciprocal access to dozens of Texas Panhandle libraries including several college libraries (Amarillo College, Clarendon College, Frank Phillips College, Wayland Baptist University) and statewide TexShare access.
Notes: This joint school-district/county library funding model is a real, distinctive structural detail worth noting.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Historic Ritz Theatre in Wellington – a restored landmark that was among 100 national finalists in the 2011 “This Place Matters” competition run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a genuine and checkable national recognition
Notes: A modest, honest listing – no major state park within the county was confirmed in this search.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Collingsworth County Appraisal District (Collingsworth CAD) – 800 West Ave, Rm 4, Wellington, TX 79095 | (806) 447-5172 | collingsworthcad.org; real estate, personal property, mineral, utility, and industrial accounts are all appraised for the district by Pritchard & Abbott, Inc.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Within Wellington: The City of Wellington provides animal control and code enforcement as part of its full-service city operations – contact City Hall directly for current information.
Notes: For unincorporated Collingsworth County, contact the County Sheriff’s Office, (806) 447-2588, to confirm current response options, since a separate county-wide animal control department was not confirmed in this search.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: The City of Wellington provides solid waste services as part of its full-service municipal offerings – contact City Hall directly for current arrangements. No separate county-wide landfill was confirmed in this search.
NOTES: Collingsworth County is the fifth and final county in this batch (Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Collingsworth). Collingsworth General Hospital’s 2017 national Top-20 patient satisfaction recognition and the joint school-district/county library funding model are genuinely distinctive, checkable facts. The Historic Ritz Theatre’s 2011 national preservation recognition is real and specific. Several sections (building permits, standalone public health, county-wide animal control, waste) reflect genuine gaps typical of a small rural Panhandle county and are flagged honestly. 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 Collingsworth County County
Heritage | Wellington’s small courthouse anchors Collingsworth County, whose farming and ranching economy along the Oklahoma border has remained the steady backbone of this rural Panhandle county for generations, with cotton production forming a significant part of the local agricultural base Outdoors | The county’s flat farmland and ranchland offer hunting typical of the Texas Panhandle, with limited outdoor recreation beyond agricultural land typical of this remote border county Notable | Collingsworth County’s cotton farming and ranching economy remains central to its rural identity, tied to the broader South Plains agricultural region along the Oklahoma border Library | Collingsworth County Library serves the county’s small courthouse town and surrounding rural farming communities
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Services: Collects property taxes and handles vehicle registration
Courts & Legal
COMMISSIONERS COURT
Structure: Commissioners Court (County Judge plus 4 Commissioners)
Address: 800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
Phone: (806) 447-5408
Website: co.collingsworth.tx.us/commissioners
DISTRICT COURT
Address: 800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
Phone: (806) 447-5408
Website: txcourts.gov/courts/collingsworth
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
(806) 447-5408
DISTRICT CLERK
800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
(806) 447-5408
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Collingsworth County District and County Clerk’s Office, Wellington (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Collingsworth 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
District and County Clerk, Collingsworth County 800 West Avenue, Box 10, Wellington, TX 79095 (806) 447-2408
Collingsworth County is in the Texas Panhandle, seated in Wellington. Collingsworth County combines the District Clerk and County Clerk roles into a single office.
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 Collingsworth, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Collingsworth County, the combined District and County Clerk’s office handles probate matters through the County Court.
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 Collingsworth County District and 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 Collingsworth 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
800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
(806) 447-2809
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
(806) 447-5408
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
(806) 447-5408
HHSC Office
800 West Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095
(806) 447-5408
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Facility: Collingsworth General Hospital and its Collingsworth Family Medicine Rural Health Clinic (see Section 6) serve as the county’s primary health access point – no separate standalone county public health department was confirmed in this search.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Wellington
Population: 2,900
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Collingsworth County County facilities via Amazon.
