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Sheriff’s Office: 207 E North 1st St, Roby, TX 79543 | (325) 776-2273
Jail: Fisher County Jail – 112 North Concho Street, Roby, TX 79543 (built 1928), non-emergency (325) 776-2273
Fire: Roby Volunteer Fire Department – (325) 776-2271; actively coordinates with regional partners on wildfire-season preparedness (part of the “Big Country” region of West Texas)
No dedicated county-level Emergency Management Coordinator contact was independently confirmed in this search – contact the County Judge’s office, (325) 776-2151, to confirm current arrangements.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-180 and SH-70 cross at Roby, the county seat, in central Fisher County
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Rotan, not Roby, is the county’s largest city.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Roby, Rotan, or another city, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Fisher County, contact the County Judge’s office, (325) 776-2151, to confirm current requirements.
Notes: A genuinely charming and well-documented piece of local history: the bitter 1885-86 fight over which town would become county seat (Roby vs. the rival town of Fisher, now the ghost town North Roby) was so contested that a later investigation found one of the deciding votes had been cast in the name of a dog named Bill Purp, owned by a Roby-area resident. Roby’s current courthouse, built in 1972, is its third – unlike many Texas county seats that preserved a single historic courthouse.
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: The Fisher County Appraisal District can assist with property tax exemptions specifically available to veterans – contact them directly, (325) 776-2733.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
No dedicated public library was independently confirmed in this search for Roby/Fisher County – confirm current access directly with the County Judge’s office or nearby city halls (Roby, Rotan).
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: North Roby (formerly the town of Fisher), a genuine ghost town about 4.5 miles north of Roby, was the losing side of the 1885-86 county-seat fight described in Section 8 – it once had its own electric trolley line (the Roby and Northern Railroad, built 1915) connecting it to Roby. Fisher County’s early economy was overwhelmingly cattle-based (24,164 head reported by 1880, vastly outnumbering the human population), and a colony of Swedish immigrants settled the community of Swedonia in the county’s northeast in its early years.
Notes: A modest, honest listing – no major state park within the county was found in this search.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Fisher County Appraisal District (Fisher CAD) – 107 E. North 1st St, PO Box 516, Roby, TX 79543 | (325) 776-2733 | fishercad.org; mineral, utility, and industrial accounts are appraised for the district by Pritchard & Abbott, Inc. in Amarillo.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county or city animal control department/shelter was independently confirmed in this search.
Notes: A genuine gap – for a stray or nuisance animal, contact the Fisher County Sheriff’s Office, (325) 776-2273, 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.
NOTES: Fisher County is the first county in this batch (Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Frio). It’s a very small, sparsely populated West Texas county, and several sections (library, veterans services, animal control, standalone public health) reflect real, honestly-flagged gaps rather than invented info. The “Bill Purp the dog voter” county-seat election story is a genuine, well-documented, and delightful piece of local history. 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 Fisher County County
Fisher County is west-central Texas’s Rolling Plains ranching county – the mesquite grassland cattle country and the Colorado River tributaries that provide water to the surrounding ranches define a small community where Roby serves the county’s sparse ranching population in the open plains between Abilene and Lubbock.
Roby (the county seat, population ~600) is Fisher County’s governmental hub, a small west-central Texas ranching community on US 180 whose cattle economy and courthouse anchor its identity in the remote Rolling Plains.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Fisher County Appraisal District at 100 S. Connell Street, Roby, TX 79543, phone 325-776-2401. TX appraised at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Fisher County District Court at 100 S. Connell Street, Roby, TX 79543, phone 325-776-2401, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
112 North Concho St, Roby, TX 79543
(325) 776-2401
DISTRICT CLERK
112 North Concho St, Roby, TX 79543
(325) 776-2401
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Fisher County Clerk’s Office, Roby (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Fisher 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, Fisher County 112 North Concho Street, PO Box 368, Roby, TX 79543 (325) 776-2401
Fisher County was created in 1876, organized in 1886, named for Samuel Rhoads Fisher, in West Texas, seated in Roby (largest city Rotan).
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 Fisher, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Fisher County, the County Court 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 Fisher 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 Fisher 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
112 North Concho St, Roby, TX 79543
(325) 776-2321
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
112 North Concho St, Roby, TX 79543
(325) 776-2401
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
112 North Concho St, Roby, TX 79543
(325) 776-2401
HHSC Office
112 North Concho St, Roby, TX 79543
(325) 776-2401
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
No standalone county health department was confirmed in this search – confirm current public health service arrangements directly with the County Judge’s office. Note: a “Fisher County HD” (health district) taxing unit is listed with the Appraisal District, suggesting a health-related taxing entity exists – confirm current scope and contact directly.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Roby
Population: 3,700
Public Records
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