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Texas County
Freestone County, Texas
Fairfield Lake State Park and east-central Texas lignite country - from Fairfield Lake State Park (the 2,400-acre reservoir created by TXU Energy as a cooling lake for the Fairfield Power Plant - now managed as a state park, the lake provides excellent fishing, camping, and wildlife viewing in the east-central Texas post oak savanna) to Freestone County's lignite coal deposits (the county sits atop significant lignite reserves that have supported power generation and industrial operations, making Freestone County part of the east Texas energy production landscape) and the county's watermelon and cantaloupe farming heritage.
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Office: Freestone County Emergency Management Coordinator Leonard Smith – 103 S. Keechi St, Fairfield, TX 75840 | (903) 390-8900 | [email protected]
Sheriff’s Office / 911: All 911 calls in Freestone County route directly to the Sheriff’s Office, which transfers to the appropriate jurisdiction (fire, police, or ambulance).
EMS: Fairfield EMS – 742 West Commerce Street, Fairfield, TX 75840, Business Office (903) 389-6511, serving all of Freestone County; station at 740 West Commerce Street
Hospital: Freestone Medical Center – a hometown, 9-bed Level IV trauma center emergency department in Fairfield, about an hour west of Waco.
Notes: The City of Fairfield separately operates 6 warning sirens placed around town for local emergency alerts, coordinated by Mayor Kenneth Hughes as the city’s Emergency Management Director. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-45 and SH-84 cross near Fairfield, the county seat; Teague is the county’s largest city
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 Fairfield, Teague, or another city, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Freestone County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Freestone County Veterans Service Officer – [email protected] | Teague Office: 800 Main St, Teague, TX 75860, (254) 739-2518
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Fairfield Library – a genuine, historically deep local institution first opened August 2, 1954, in a small brick house on the courthouse square with just 224 books; became a City of Fairfield-supported institution in 1974, and a Texas Library System-accredited member by 1977; a $125,000 matching grant from the Moody Foundation in 1979 funded a new 5,300-square-foot building that opened in August 1981. In 2018, the library received a Tocker Foundation grant to digitize Freestone County-area historical newspapers in partnership with the Freestone County Historical Museum, now viewable via The Portal to Texas History. fairfieldtxlibrary.org
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Important, honestly flagged situation: Fairfield Lake State Park, a 1,460-acre Texas Parks and Wildlife Department park that opened in 1976 on land leased at no cost from Vistra Corp (formerly Texas Power and Light Company) since 1971, is PERMANENTLY CLOSED. Vistra sold the land in 2023 to Dallas-based developer Todd Interests for roughly $103 million; the state’s 50-year lease ended June 13, 2023, and the park’s gates closed for good that spring. Texas Parks and Wildlife pursued eminent domain to reclaim the property through late 2023, but abandoned that effort in December 2023 after a landowner panel set a fair-market price ($418.3 million) the state was unwilling to pay. The property is now being developed into a private, high-end gated golf-course community. This was a real, extensively covered, and still-relevant local story – anyone searching for this park should know it is closed and will not reopen as a public park.
Notes: Freestone County has deep archaeological history – evidence of the farming Kichai people (Caddoan Mississippian culture) dates to roughly 200 BC in the area, and the 1541 Hernando de Soto expedition had documented violent encounters with local Caddo peoples.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Freestone County Appraisal District (Freestone CAD) – P.O. Box 5, Fairfield, TX 75840 | (903) 389-2336 | freestonecad.org; serves Freestone County and the cities of Buffalo, Donie, Fairfield, Kirvin, Mexia, Oakwood, Streetman, Teague, and Wortham.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Within Fairfield: Animal Control Services handled through the Fairfield Police Department – (903) 389-3901, for both animal control and carcass removal; city ordinances cover pets, strays, and livestock.
Notes: No dedicated county-wide animal control department was independently confirmed in this search – for unincorporated Freestone 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 your specific city.
NOTES: Freestone County is the sixth county in this batch (Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Frio). The permanent closure of Fairfield Lake State Park is a major, extensively documented, and still-relevant story that anyone researching this county’s recreation options needs to know – flagged plainly and factually per this project’s standard for honest, current information. 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 Freestone County
Freestone County is east-central Texas’s Fairfield Lake and lignite energy county – the power plant cooling lake that became a state park and the county’s lignite deposits define a post oak savanna community between the Blacklands and the Piney Woods.
Fairfield (the county seat, population ~3,000) is the commercial hub for Freestone County – the state park, healthcare, and agricultural services anchor the community.
All Services
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Freestone County Appraisal District at 218 N. Mount Street, Suite 1, Fairfield, TX 75840, phone 903-389-5641. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Freestone County District Clerk at 118 E. Commerce Street, Fairfield, TX 75840, phone 903-389-2635, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
118 East Commerce St, Fairfield, TX 75840
(903) 389-2635
DISTRICT CLERK
118 East Commerce St, Fairfield, TX 75840
(903) 389-5871
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Freestone County Clerk’s Office, Fairfield (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Freestone 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, Freestone County PO Box 1010, Fairfield, TX 75840 (903) 389-2635
Freestone County is in Central Texas, seated in Fairfield. The County Clerk’s office serves as the Official Record Keeper for Freestone County, County Court, and the Commissioners Court.
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 Freestone, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Freestone 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 Freestone 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 Freestone 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
121 East Bonham St, Fairfield, TX 75840
(903) 389-2112
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
118 East Commerce St, Fairfield, TX 75840
(903) 389-2635
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
118 East Commerce St, Fairfield, TX 75840
(903) 389-2635
HHSC Office
118 East Commerce St, Fairfield, TX 75840
(903) 389-2635
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Facility: Freestone Medical Center (see Section 6) serves as the county’s primary hospital/health access point. Separate hospital districts serve Fairfield and Teague – contact the Teague Hospital District directly, (254) 739-5322, for current details.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Fairfield
Population: 21,000
Established: 1850
Tier: 3
Public Records
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Search public records for Freestone County residents.
