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Texas · North Texas · Red River · #450 Most Populous County in the US
Grayson County, Texas
North Texas's Red River gateway county — from Sherman's Texoma Medical Center and Austin College to Denison's birthplace of President Dwight Eisenhower, Lake Texoma's massive reservoir on the Texas-Oklahoma border, and a county that has emerged as a destination for Dallas metro residents seeking more space and lower land costs 70 miles north of the city. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Grayson County residents.
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.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Grayson County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Notable local program: Grayson County offers a Residential Safe Room Rebate Program – a real, practical incentive for residents to install storm shelters; contact the OEM office for current details.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-75 and US-82 serve Sherman and Denison, the county’s two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison metropolitan statistical area (itself part of the larger Dallas-Fort Worth combined statistical area, about 60 miles north of Dallas)
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Preston Road (now Texas State Highway 289), running from Preston Bend in Grayson County to Austin, was the first trail in the state of Texas – a real, historically significant transportation route.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Sherman Building & Zoning Department handles permits within Sherman city limits – contact City Hall directly.
For unincorporated Grayson County, contact the County Judge’s office, (903) 813-4200, to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Denison’s Main Street is the longest in Texas, and in 2025 it won both the Great American Main Street Award and Best Texas Downtown (for cities under 50,000) – a real, current civic honor.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Grayson County Veteran’s Service – Grayson County Courthouse, 100 W Houston St, Sherman, TX 75090 | (903) 813-4253 | Fax: (903) 870-4087
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Notes: Denison’s Loy Lake Park is home to the Eisenhower Veterans Monument – a giant bust honoring Denison-born President and five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Sherman Public Library – a recently renovated, well-regarded facility blending modern amenities with historic architecture, offering study nooks, family restrooms, multiple meeting rooms, a snack room, and vending machines; contact via ci.sherman.tx.us/283/Library for current hours.
Denison also maintains its own separate public library – confirm current contact directly.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Grayson County is genuinely, nationally significant as the birthplace of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, born in Denison on October 14, 1890 (the family moved to Kansas in 1892). The Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site preserves the modest frame house where he was born, filled with period furnishings; nearby, Eisenhower State Park is a real 423.1-acre Texas Parks and Wildlife Department park on the shores of Lake Texoma (an 89,000-acre lake on the Texas-Oklahoma border), established 1954, offering hiking/biking trails, a swimming beach, fishing pier, camping, and an amphitheater. Lake Texoma is the only lake in Texas where striped bass naturally spawn. Grayson County Frontier Village & Museum, on 14 acres within Loy Lake Park between Sherman and Denison, preserves numerous 19th-century pioneer log cabins and homes (several with individual Texas Historical Markers) and holds regular pioneer-living demonstrations, craft events, and festivals.
Notes: These are real, extensively documented, nationally significant heritage and recreation assets – genuinely central American history, not manufactured content.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Grayson Central Appraisal District (Grayson CAD) – 512 N. Travis St, Sherman, TX 75090 | (903) 893-9673 | Hours: Monday–Friday 8:00 AM–5:00 PM, open to the public 8:00 AM–4:00 PM | graysonappraisal.org; the district has a dedicated Taxpayer Liaison Officer as required for counties over 120,000 population.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Office: Grayson County Animal Control – 205 North Houston Ave, Denison, TX 75021 | Hours: Monday–Friday 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Within Sherman: City of Sherman Animal Control – a separate city department; contact City Hall directly for current details.
Notes: Confirm which agency (county or the relevant city) covers your specific address.
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: Grayson County is the second county in this batch (Gray, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hale, Hall). Eisenhower’s birthplace and the associated state park/historic site are genuinely significant, nationally important history directly tied to this county. Denison’s 2025 Great American Main Street Award is a real, current civic honor. 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 Grayson County
Grayson County’s Denison is Dwight Eisenhower’s birthplace – the small white frame house where he was born on October 14, 1890 is preserved as the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site, and the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas holds the more complete archive. Eisenhower’s specific North Texas origin is a fact his Kansas identity sometimes overshadows in public memory.
Lake Texoma – the reservoir on the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma – is one of the 12 largest reservoirs in the United States and supports a substantial fishing, boating, and recreation economy that includes Eisenhower State Park. Austin College in Sherman is one of Texas’s most selective private liberal arts colleges. Grayson County has attracted some Dallas-area residential growth as the metroplex expands northward.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Texas has no state income tax. County Appraisal Districts appraise property at 100% of market value. Property owners may protest to the ARB by May 15. Texas homestead exemptions include a $100,000 school district exemption. Texas has no estate or inheritance tax.
Recommended
GCAD protest deadline: May 15. Sherman TI chip plant investment driving significant appreciation. No TX estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the protest with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
District Court (Probate): Grayson County’s District Courts (15th, 59th, 336th) at 100 W. Houston Street, Sherman, TX 75090, phone 903-813-4303, handle probate and all civil and criminal matters. County Clerk maintains deed records. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
Texoma Area Paratransit System / Texoma Council of Governments – Area Agency on Aging
1117 Gallagher Drive, Sherman, TX 75090
Phone: (903) 813-3510
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 West Houston St, Sherman, TX 75090
(903) 813-4300
DISTRICT CLERK
100 West Houston St, Sherman, TX 75090
(903) 813-4362
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Grayson County Clerk’s Office, Sherman (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Grayson 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, Grayson County 100 West Houston, Suite 17, Sherman, TX 75090 (903) 813-4235
Grayson County is in North Texas on the Oklahoma border, seated in Sherman. In Grayson County, the County Court probates the wills of deceased persons, declares heirs of persons who die without a will, and establishes guardianships for incapacitated persons and minors.
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 Grayson, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Grayson 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 Grayson 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 Grayson 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
220 South Crockett St, Sherman, TX 75090
(903) 813-4300
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
100 West Houston St, Sherman, TX 75090
(903) 813-4211
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1200 West Houston St, Sherman, TX 75090
(903) 813-4272
HHSC Office
1112 Enterprise St, Sherman, TX 75090
(903) 957-6800
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
No standalone county health department contact beyond Animal Control (listed under Health in the county directory) was independently confirmed in this search – confirm current public health service arrangements directly with the County Judge’s office.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
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