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Office: Foard County Sheriff Perry Shaw – P.O. Box 309, Crowell, TX 79227 | Non-emergency: (940) 684-1501 | Fax: (940) 684-1947 | Normal business hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Notes: Crowell suffered a devastating F-scale tornado in April 1942 that killed 10 people, injured 125, left 1,500 homeless, and destroyed 90% of the town’s business buildings and homes – the Red Cross, WPA, and Civilian Conservation Corps assisted in the recovery, and the town was eventually rebuilt. A genuinely severe piece of local disaster history worth knowing. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-70 and SH-6 cross at Crowell, the county seat – leading 33 miles east to Vernon, 36 miles west to Paducah, 22 miles north to Quanah, and 28 miles south to Benjamin.
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Crowell is Foard County’s only incorporated community – the rest of the county is entirely unincorporated.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Crowell, contact City Hall directly; for the rest of (unincorporated) Foard County, contact the County Judge’s office, (940) 684-1424, to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Foard County was one of 46 entirely “dry” counties in Texas until voters approved a referendum permitting legal alcohol sales in May 2006 – a real, relatively recent local policy change.
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: Crowell is home to the Foard County Veterans Memorial Wall, a real local tribute to service members.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Foard County Library – 110 E California St, Crowell, TX 79227 | (940) 684-1250 | Hours: 12:00 PM–5:00 PM; provides access to TexShare research databases (books, articles, and more) for patrons working remotely.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: In 1860, Texas Ranger Captain Lawrence Sullivan “Sul” Ross fought a band of Comanche near the future site of Crowell, in the process rescuing Cynthia Ann Parker – a real, historically significant episode in Texas history, since Parker had been captured by Comanches as a child decades earlier and her son later became the famed Comanche chief Quanah Parker. Crowell today preserves this history through the Cynthia Ann Parker/Pease River Battlefield Marker, and the town is a stop on the official Quanah Parker Trail. Other local heritage sites include the 1908 Santa Fe Depot Museum and the Crowell Firehall Museum. Copper Breaks State Park, a real Texas Parks and Wildlife Department park, sits about 8 miles north of Crowell just across the line in Hardeman County – a convenient, genuine nearby recreation option for Foard County residents.
Notes: These are real, historically significant, well-documented local landmarks – not manufactured tourism content.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Foard County Appraisal District – confirm current contact directly via foardcounty.texas.gov or the County Clerk’s office, (940) 684-1365.
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 Foard County Sheriff’s Office, (940) 684-1501, 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: Foard County is the third county in this batch (Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Frio) and one of the smallest and most sparsely populated in this entire project (roughly 1,000 residents). The Cynthia Ann Parker rescue history near Crowell is a real, historically significant episode directly tied to this county. The 1942 tornado disaster is real, severe local history. Several sections (building permits, veterans services, standalone public health, animal control) reflect real, honestly-flagged gaps typical of a very small rural 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 Foard County County
Foard County is one of Texas’s least populous and most remote counties – a Pease River Rolling Plains ranching community where Crowell’s courthouse serves fewer than 1,100 residents in the red clay and mesquite country of north Texas near the Oklahoma border.
Crowell (the county seat, population ~900) is Foard County’s governmental hub, a small north Texas Rolling Plains community on US 70 whose cattle ranching economy and remote plains setting anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Foard County Appraisal District at 104 W. Commercial Avenue, Crowell, TX 79227, phone 940-684-1365. TX appraised at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Foard County District Court at 104 W. Commercial Avenue, Crowell, TX 79227, phone 940-684-1365, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 West Wichita St, Crowell, TX 79227
(940) 684-1365
DISTRICT CLERK
100 West Wichita St, Crowell, TX 79227
(940) 684-1365
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Foard County District and County Clerk’s Office, Crowell (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Foard 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, Foard County 101 South Main Street, PO Box 539, Crowell, TX 79227 (940) 684-1365
Foard County is in North Texas, seated in Crowell. Foard 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 Foard, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Foard 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 Foard 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 Foard 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
100 West Wichita St, Crowell, TX 79227
(940) 684-1355
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
100 West Wichita St, Crowell, TX 79227
(940) 684-1365
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
100 West Wichita St, Crowell, TX 79227
(940) 684-1365
HHSC Office
100 West Wichita St, Crowell, TX 79227
(940) 684-1365
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.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Crowell
Population: 1,300
Public Records
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