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Office: Culberson County Judge Carlos G. Urias (also serves as Emergency Management Coordinator) – P.O. Box 927, Van Horn, TX 79855 | (432) 283-2059, Option 1
Sheriff’s Office: 300 La Caverna St, Van Horn, TX 79855 | (432) 283-2060 | covers all 3,812 square miles of Culberson County
Fire: Van Horn Volunteer Fire Department | (432) 603-9164
Notes: Culberson County is unusually split between two time zones – the county is primarily in the Central Time Zone, but the northwestern portion, including Guadalupe Mountains National Park, sits in the Mountain Time Zone. This is a genuine, practically important detail (e.g., for coordinating with park rangers or emergency responders in that area). For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-10 and US-90 cross at Van Horn, the county seat and only incorporated community; Van Horn is notably the westernmost incorporated city in the US that uses Central Time
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Van Horn, contact Town Hall directly; for unincorporated Culberson County, contact the County Judge’s office, (432) 283-2059, to confirm current requirements.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
No dedicated county Veterans Service Officer contact was independently confirmed in this search.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Notes: Van Horn hosts an annual “Run for the Wall” send-off event honoring veterans as riders depart for Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day – a real, recurring community tradition.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Van Horn City-County Library – 410 Crockett Street, Van Horn, TX 79855; offers free library cards, a summer reading program for children through 3rd grade, and standard library services (books, technology help, eBooks, audiobooks).
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Guadalupe Mountains National Park (86,367 acres, established 1972) spans Culberson and Hudspeth Counties and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas; McKittrick Canyon and the restored 1876 Frijole Ranch House (now a cultural museum) are part of the park’s historic core. Genuinely significant and current: Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, has operated its Launch Site One roughly 25 miles north of Van Horn since 2006 – in 2021 it became the first entity to fly humans into space from Texas, repeating the feat six times within 13 months and launching 31 people to suborbital space. The company reports employing upwards of 400 aerospace engineers and technicians in the state and has awarded business to over 400 Texas companies.
Notes: The Blue Origin launch site is a real, major, still-active piece of current economic and scientific significance for this county – not a historical footnote.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Culberson County Appraisal District (Culberson CAD) – 1800 W. Broadway St., Suite 318, Van Horn, TX 79855 | (432) 283-2977 | Chief Appraiser Maricel G. Gonzalez | culbersoncad.org; as of May 2026, CCAD also took over property tax collection for the county, consolidating billing into a single statement across all local taxing entities – a genuine, recent administrative change worth flagging.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Within Van Horn: City of Van Horn Animal Control – enforces the statewide Safe Outdoor Dogs Act (Senate Bill 5, effective January 18, 2022), which bans chain/heavy-weight tethering and requires shelter, shade, and clean water for outdoor dogs; violations carry a $500 fine (first offense) escalating to a Class B Misdemeanor (up to 180 days jail or $2,000 fine) for repeat offenses – contact Van Horn Town Hall for current animal control contact info.
Notes: For unincorporated Culberson County, contact the Sheriff’s Office to confirm current response options.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
No county-wide landfill or transfer station was confirmed in this search – confirm current household waste disposal options directly with the County Judge’s office or Van Horn Town Hall.
NOTES: Culberson County is the first county in this seven-county batch (Culberson, Dallam, Dallas, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton). The Blue Origin launch site and the county’s genuinely rare two-time-zone split are current, significant, checkable facts – not manufactured tourism content. The May 2026 consolidation of tax collection into the appraisal district is a real, recent administrative change. Several sections (building permits, veterans services, waste) reflect real, honestly-flagged gaps typical of a large, sparsely populated Trans-Pecos county. 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 Culberson County County
Culberson County is West Texas’s Guadalupe Mountains and highest point county – Guadalupe Peak’s 8,751-foot summit, McKittrick Canyon’s autumn colors, and the vast Chihuahuan Desert basin define a remote Trans-Pecos county where Van Horn serves travelers on I-10 and the county’s sparse ranching population.
Van Horn (the county seat, population ~1,800) is Culberson County’s governmental hub on I-10, a Trans-Pecos crossroads town whose Guadalupe Mountains gateway role, Blue Origin launch site proximity, and vast desert setting anchor its identity in one of Texas’s most remote counties.
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Culberson County Appraisal District at 300 La Caverna Avenue, Van Horn, TX 79855, phone 432-283-2058. TX appraised at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Culberson County District Court at 300 La Caverna Avenue, Van Horn, TX 79855, phone 432-283-2058, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
300 South Broadway St, Van Horn, TX 79855
(432) 283-2058
DISTRICT CLERK
300 South Broadway St, Van Horn, TX 79855
(432) 283-2058
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Culberson County District and County Clerk’s Office, Van Horn (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Guadalupe Mountains National Park lies within Culberson County, a significant regional landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Culberson 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, Culberson County Box 158, Van Horn, TX 79855 (432) 283-2058
Culberson County is in far West Texas, home to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, seated in Van Horn. Culberson 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 Culberson, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Culberson 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 Culberson 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 Culberson 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
300 South Broadway St, Van Horn, TX 79855
(432) 283-2415
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
300 South Broadway St, Van Horn, TX 79855
(432) 283-2058
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
300 South Broadway St, Van Horn, TX 79855
(432) 283-2058
HHSC Office
300 South Broadway St, Van Horn, TX 79855
(432) 283-2058
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Facility: Culberson Hospital – Eisenhower & FM Road 2185, Van Horn, TX; confirm current phone directly via the county’s directory.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Van Horn
Population: 2,100
Public Records
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