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Texas County
Hutchinson County, Texas
Borger's Panhandle oil boom and the Alibates Flint Quarries - from Borger's 1920s oil boom (the Panhandle oil field discovery turned Borger from a plat on paper into a boomtown of 45,000 people in months - the chaos of the boom era required martial law and the arrival of Texas Rangers to restore order in a community exploding with oil field workers, bootleggers, and gamblers) to Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument (the ancient quarries where Native Americans mined agatized dolomite for tools for at least 13,000 years - the brilliantly colored Alibates flint has been found at archaeological sites across North America, making this one of the most significant prehistoric quarry sites on the continent).
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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.
Office: Hutchinson County Emergency Management/9-1-1 – co.hutchinson.tx.us; works jointly with the City of Borger’s Office of Emergency Management (a joint City/County Facebook feed shares local alerts, plus a separate mass-notification registration system for National Weather Service and local official alerts via email, phone, or text).
Sheriff’s Office: (806) 274-6343 | Hutchinson County Jail: (806) 878-2401
EMS: Borger Fire Department EMS – provides 24/7 ambulance service across Hutchinson County with two staffed ambulances (Borger and Fritch areas) plus a maintenance-spare third unit; also recently took over EMS response for the City of Stinnett. Billing handled through Emergicon, (972) 602-2060.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SH-136, SH-152, and SH-207 meet at Borger, the county’s largest city; Stinnett is the county seat
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Stinnett was founded in 1926 by A.P. “Ace” Borger – the same man who founded the city of Borger – and his brother; it replaced the earlier county seat of Plemons (now a ghost town) later that year. The 1927 Hutchinson County Courthouse, built in Spanish Renaissance style, was financed with petroleum money from the region’s 1920s oil boom.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Borger or Stinnett, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Hutchinson County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Borger’s founding is genuinely one of the most dramatic boomtown stories in Texas history: after the March 1926 discovery of oil nearby, the newly platted 240-acre townsite drew over 45,000 people within just 90 days, complete with “black duster” dust storms compounded by carbon-black plant soot. Borger was designated an All-American City in 1969.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hutchinson County Veterans Service Officer Ryan Sawyer – 1400 Veta, Suite 120, Borger, TX 79007 | Office: (806) 273-0148 | Cell: (806) 395-7665 | Hours: Monday–Thursday, 8:00 AM–4:30 PM
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Hutchinson County Library, Borger Branch – 625 Weatherly, Borger, TX 79007 | (806) 273-0126 | Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM, closed weekends; part of the Harrington Library Consortium.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Hutchinson County genuinely has more ghost towns than any other county in the Texas Panhandle – a real, distinctive historical feature. Adobe Walls, a National Register of Historic Places site 17 miles northeast of Stinnett, was established in 1843 as a trading post and is the real, historically significant site of two documented battles between Native Americans and settlers/buffalo hunters, including the well-known 1874 Second Battle of Adobe Walls. The county was historically known as Comanche territory. Lake Meredith National Recreation Area – the only National Recreation Area in the Texas Panhandle, managed by the National Park Service and spanning Hutchinson, Potter, and Moore counties – offers real, substantial boating, fishing, camping, and hiking on a 21,640-acre reservoir formed by Sanford Dam on the Canadian River; park headquarters are in Fritch, within Hutchinson County. The adjacent Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument preserves a genuinely significant prehistoric flint-quarrying site used by Native peoples for thousands of years. The Hutchinson County Historical Museum (“Boomtown Revisited”) in downtown Borger documents the county’s dramatic oil-boom history.
Notes: These are real, extensively documented historic and natural landmarks – the Adobe Walls battle site and Lake Meredith/Alibates are genuinely significant regional and national historic/natural resources.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hutchinson County Appraisal District – 920 Illinois St, Borger, TX 79007
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Borger Animal Control Shelter – 1300 West 3rd Street, Borger, TX 79007 | (806) 273-0973 (lost pet checks) or (806) 273-0930 (after-hours) | Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM; an open-intake facility established 1994-95 as part of Hutchinson County Animal Services; adoption fee $45, owner surrender $30/animal ($80 if vaccinations needed, $60/litter under 10 weeks), microchipping free for Borger residents ($35 for non-residents); offers free vaccine clinics (Distemper, Adenovirus, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza) Monday–Friday 10:00 AM–5:00 PM while supplies last, call ahead.
Independent nonprofit: Hutchinson Humane Society – PO Box 1125, Borger, TX 79008.
Notes: The detailed, published fee schedule here is genuinely useful, current, practical information for pet owners in this county.
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 Borger City Hall.
NOTES: Hutchinson County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Howard, Hudspeth, Hunt, Hutchinson). Adobe Walls and Lake Meredith National Recreation Area/Alibates Flint Quarries are genuinely significant historic and natural landmarks. Borger’s dramatic 1926 oil-boom founding story is real and well-documented. 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 Hutchinson County
Hutchinson County is Texas Panhandle’s oil boom legacy and ancient quarry county – Borger’s explosive 1920s oil boom required martial law, and Alibates Flint Quarries preserves a 13,000-year-old prehistoric toolstone source used across North America.
Borger (population ~12,000) grew from the 1926 Panhandle oil field discovery – the boomtown’s chaotic early years required Texas Ranger intervention. The subsequent petrochemical industry stabilized the community.
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument – accessible only by ranger-guided tours – preserves the brilliantly colored flint quarries where generations of Native Americans obtained toolstone.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Hutchinson County Appraisal District at 500 Main Street, Suite 3, Stinnett, TX 79083, phone 806-878-2800. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Hutchinson County District Clerk at 500 Main Street, Suite 6, Stinnett, TX 79083, phone 806-878-4002, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
500 South Main St, Stinnett, TX 79083
(806) 878-4001
DISTRICT CLERK
500 South Main St, Stinnett, TX 79083
(806) 878-4002
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hutchinson County Clerk’s Office, Stinnett (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Hutchinson 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, Hutchinson County PO Box 1186, Stinnett, TX 79083 (806) 878-4002 Hutchinson County is in the Texas Panhandle, seated in Stinnett.
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 Hutchinson, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Hutchinson 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 Hutchinson 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 Hutchinson 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
500 South Main St, Stinnett, TX 79083
(806) 878-4090
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
500 South Main St, Stinnett, TX 79083
(806) 878-4001
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
500 South Main St, Stinnett, TX 79083
(806) 878-4000
HHSC Office
800 South 2nd St, Borger, TX 79007
(806) 273-5561
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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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Stinnett
Population: 20,500
Established: 1901
Tier: 3
Public Records
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