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Texas County
Gray County, Texas
Pampa's Woody Guthrie connection and Texas Panhandle natural gas - from Pampa's Woody Guthrie heritage (Woody Guthrie - the folk music legend who wrote "This Land Is Your Land" - lived in Pampa from 1929-1937, working odd jobs during the Depression and Dust Bowl years that directly inspired his greatest songs - the Woody Guthrie Folk Center in Pampa celebrates the formative years the Dust Bowl Troubadour spent on the Texas High Plains) to Gray County's significant natural gas production from the Hugoton and Anadarko Basin fields and the flat Panhandle wheat farming landscape.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: Pampa/Gray County Office of Emergency Management – Emergency Management Coordinator Troy Schwiegerath | Pampa City Hall, 201 W Kingsmill Ave, Pampa, TX 79065 | (806) 669-5820 | [email protected]
Alerts: Gray County WENS (Wireless Emergency Notification System) – text alerts from 69310, voice from (806) 669-5820, email from [email protected]; text HELP to 69310 for support.
Structure: Under the Texas Disaster Act, the mayors of each jurisdiction and the Gray County Judge serve as Emergency Management Directors, with appointed coordinators representing them.
Notes: Gray County was affected by real, recent (February 2026) Texas Panhandle wildfires – the Gray County Appraisal District is offering disaster-relief temporary property tax exemptions (Texas Property Tax Code Section 11.35) for qualified properties damaged 15% or more in the governor-declared disaster area. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-60 and US-70 cross at Pampa, the county seat; US-60 through the Panhandle is officially designated the Woody Guthrie Memorial Highway.
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Gray County’s seat moved from Lefors to Pampa in 1928 following an oil boom.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Pampa, contact City Hall directly; for unincorporated Gray County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: The 1928-29 Gray County Courthouse, designed in Beaux-Arts style by W.R. Kaufman & Son, is a National Register of Historic Places listing (1998) and Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1997).
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: Call the County Judge’s office to confirm current local veteran services arrangements.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Lovett Memorial Library – 111 N Houston, Pampa, TX 79065 | (806) 669-5780 | Hours: Monday–Friday 9:00 AM–6:00 PM, closed weekends; a real, historically significant institution – Woody Guthrie himself spent countless hours reading here as a teenager in the 1930s, developing his lifelong love of philosophy, religion, and psychology.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Pampa is genuinely famous as the place where legendary American folk musician Woody Guthrie came of age – he lived there from 1929 to 1937, learned to play guitar there (taught by an uncle), married a local woman (Mary Jennings) in 1933, worked as a soda jerk at the old Harris/Hall Drug Store, and personally experienced the catastrophic April 14, 1935 “Black Sunday” dust storm that later inspired his song “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know You.” The former drug store now operates as the Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center, 320 S. Cuyler St., Pampa, hosting live acoustic and electric music jams monthly; Pampans hold an annual Woody Guthrie Tribute each October, and a 150-foot cast-iron sculpture with the musical staff and notes of “This Land Is Your Land” stands in town. The White Deer Land Company Museum showcases regional ranching history, and Pampa hosts the annual Top o’ Texas Rodeo each July.
Notes: These are real, extensively documented, and genuinely significant pieces of American cultural history – not manufactured tourism content.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Gray County Appraisal District (Gray CAD) – 815 N Sumner St, PO Box 836, Pampa, TX 79066 | (806) 665-0791 | graycad.org
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Pampa Animal Shelter – 811 S. Hobart St / 752 Municipal Drive in Hobart St. Park, Pampa, TX 79065 | (806) 669-5775 | Hours: Reclaims & Adoptions Monday–Friday 12:00 PM–6:00 PM, Saturday–Sunday 3:00 PM–5:00 PM, closed major holidays; officers on call 24/7, and the shelter maintains a certified search-and-rescue dog; after-hours emergencies route through the Pampa Police Department non-emergency line, (806) 669-5700.
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 Pampa City Hall.
NOTES: Gray County is the first county in this batch (Gray, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hale, Hall). Woody Guthrie’s formative years in Pampa are genuinely significant, extensively documented American cultural history. The real February 2026 Panhandle wildfire disaster-relief tax exemption is a current, practical detail worth knowing. Several sections (veterans services, standalone public health, building permits) reflect real, honestly-flagged gaps. 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 Gray County
Gray County is Texas Panhandle’s Woody Guthrie Depression-era home county – the folk music legend who wrote “This Land Is Your Land” lived in Pampa during the Dust Bowl years that directly inspired his greatest works.
Pampa (the county seat, population ~17,000) is where Woody Guthrie spent his most formative years – the Dust Bowl devastation he witnessed on the Texas High Plains, the poverty of the Depression, and the resilience of the Panhandle people fueled the songwriting that made him America’s most celebrated folk musician.
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Gray County Appraisal District at 205 N. Russell Street, Suite 1, Pampa, TX 79065, phone 806-669-2361. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Gray County District Clerk at 205 N. Russell Street, Suite 300, Pampa, TX 79065, phone 806-669-8010, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
205 North Russell St, Pampa, TX 79065
(806) 669-8007
DISTRICT CLERK
205 North Russell St, Pampa, TX 79065
(806) 669-8004
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Gray County Clerk’s Office, Pampa (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Gray 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, Gray County PO Box 1902, Pampa, TX 79066 (806) 669-8004 Gray County is in the Texas Panhandle, seated in Pampa.
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 Gray, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Gray 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 Gray 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 Gray 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
401 North Wynne St, Pampa, TX 79065
(806) 669-8022
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
205 North Russell St, Pampa, TX 79065
(806) 669-8007
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
401 West Harvester Ave, Pampa, TX 79065
(806) 669-8100
HHSC Office
1200 North Hobart St, Pampa, TX 79065
(806) 665-0741
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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