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Texas County
Jasper County, Texas
Sam Rayburn Reservoir and the James Byrd Jr. murder legacy - from Sam Rayburn Reservoir (the 114,500-acre Angelina River impoundment - the largest reservoir entirely within Texas, providing exceptional bass fishing and boating in the deep East Texas Piney Woods) to the 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr. (the hate crime in which three white supremacists chained James Byrd Jr., a Black man, to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him to death on a Jasper County road became one of the most horrific racist murders in modern American history, prompting the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act and forcing a national reckoning with racial violence).
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Office: Jasper County Interjurisdictional Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (JNS Emergency Management) – covers Jasper, Newton, and Sabine counties jointly | Program Manager/Coordinator/Floodplain Administrator Billy Ted Smith | 33625 US Hwy 96 South, PO Box 2030, Buna, TX 77612 | (409) 994-2543 | Fax: (409) 994-9847 | [email protected] | jnsem.net
911: Jasper County 9-1-1 Emergency Services – jasco.gov
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-96 and US-190 cross at Jasper, the county seat, in Deep East Texas
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 Jasper or another city, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Jasper County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: The 1936 Jasper County Courthouse, 121 North Austin Street, is the architectural centerpiece of downtown Jasper. Jasper County is one of the original Republic of Texas counties, organized in 1837 (created as a Mexican municipality in 1834), named for American Revolutionary War hero William Jasper.
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: Jasper Public Library – 175 East Water Street, Jasper, TX 75951 | Hours: Monday–Friday, 10:00 AM–6:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM–2:00 PM; holds over 35,000 volumes and circulates over 52,000 items per year.
Notes: New cardholders should bring current proof of residence (such as recent mail) – confirm accepted documents directly before a first visit.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Sam Rayburn Reservoir, formed on the Angelina River and spanning Jasper, Angelina, Nacogdoches, San Augustine, and Sabine counties, is genuinely the largest lake wholly within the state of Texas (114,500 surface acres) and the 9th largest reservoir in the United States, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; construction began in 1956, and the reservoir has served flood control, hydroelectric power, and water conservation purposes since 1965. The community of Sam Rayburn, on the reservoir’s south shore within Jasper County, grew up around the Rayburn Country resort/country club after the lake’s formation. The reservoir sits directly upstream of Big Thicket National Preserve, covered earlier in this project.
Notes: Sam Rayburn Reservoir is a real, substantial regional recreational and economic asset – genuinely one of the largest lakes covered in this entire project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Jasper County Appraisal District (Jasper CAD) – 181 East Lamar Street, Jasper, TX 75951 | (409) 384-6542 | jaspercad.org; offers an online property search tool including flood zone layers, useful for property near the Neches River, Angelina River, or Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Within Jasper city limits: City of Jasper Animal Shelter – jaspertx.org/page/animal_shelter; the city’s own Facebook page explicitly states it is NOT taking in Jasper County (unincorporated) dogs – a real, current jurisdictional limitation worth flagging plainly.
Countywide nonprofit: Humane Society of Jasper County – 1546 Farm to Market Road 3414, Jasper, TX 75951; established 1996, an open-intake facility with a stated “No Kill” policy.
Notes: The City of Jasper shelter’s explicit refusal of county-area animals is an important, currently-stated jurisdictional distinction – county residents should go directly to the Humane Society of Jasper County instead.
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 Jasper City Hall.
NOTES: Jasper County is the fourth county in this batch (Irion, Jack, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jim Hogg). Sam Rayburn Reservoir is a genuinely major regional and national asset – the largest lake entirely within Texas. The City of Jasper Animal Shelter’s stated refusal of county-area animals is a real, important, currently-stated jurisdictional gap worth flagging clearly. 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 Jasper County
Jasper County is East Texas’s Sam Rayburn Reservoir and racial justice legacy county – the largest lake entirely in Texas and the 1998 James Byrd Jr. murder that prompted landmark federal hate crimes legislation define two very different aspects of this Piney Woods community’s national significance.
Sam Rayburn Reservoir’s 114,500 acres – entirely within Texas – provide exceptional largemouth bass fishing that draws anglers from across the South.
The 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper County shocked the nation and led to the James Byrd Jr. and Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.
All Services
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Jasper County Appraisal District at 271 N. Austin Street, Suite 101, Jasper, TX 75951, phone 409-384-2544. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Jasper County District Clerk at 121 N. Austin Street, Suite 201, Jasper, TX 75951, phone 409-384-2721, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
121 North Austin St, Jasper, TX 75951
(409) 384-2632
DISTRICT CLERK
121 North Austin St, Jasper, TX 75951
(409) 384-2632
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Jasper County Clerk’s Office, Jasper (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). Records available from 1987 to present.
The NRHP-listed 1889 Jasper County Courthouse is a notable local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Jasper 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, Jasper County 121 North Austin Street, Room 103, Jasper, TX 75951 (409) 384-2632
Jasper County is in the East Texas Piney Woods, seated in Jasper. The 1889 Jasper County Courthouse, designed by Eugene T. Heiner in Italianate style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 Jasper, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Jasper 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 Jasper 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 Jasper 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 North Austin St, Jasper, TX 75951
(409) 384-6111
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
121 North Austin St, Jasper, TX 75951
(409) 384-2632
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
121 North Austin St, Jasper, TX 75951
(409) 384-2632
HHSC Office
856 South Wheeler St, Jasper, TX 75951
(409) 384-9241
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
No standalone county health department was confirmed in this search – a Texas Health Department office location is noted near Jasper; confirm current contact 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: Jasper
Population: 34,500
Established: 1836
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
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