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Texas County
Jim Wells County, Texas
Alice's Tejano music heritage and the Eagle Ford Shale - from Alice's distinction as the birthplace of Tejano music (Alice, Texas is where Narciso Martinez - the "Father of Conjunto Music" - and Lydia Mendoza began recording in the 1930s, establishing the accordion-driven Tex-Mex musical style that grew into Tejano music and shaped American Latino music for generations) to Jim Wells County's significant Eagle Ford Shale production (the county sits atop productive Eagle Ford Shale formations whose development brought dramatic energy industry activity and employment to south Texas in the 2010s).
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Office: Jim Wells County Emergency Management – 200 N. Almond, Alice, TX 78332; confirm current coordinator and contact via co.jim-wells.tx.us.
Sheriff’s Office: Sheriff Joseph Guy Baker – 300 N Cameron St, Alice, TX 78332 | (361) 668-0341 | Fax: (361) 668-0569
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-281 and SH-44 cross at Alice, the county seat, in South 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
Office: Jim Wells County Safety & Inspection Department handles on-site sewage facility (OSSF) permitting and county safety inspections; contact via co.jim-wells.tx.us.
For property within Alice, San Diego, Orange Grove, or Premont: contact the relevant city hall directly.
Notes: Jim Wells County – formed in 1911, named for South Texas political boss and judge James B. Wells Jr. – is genuinely historically significant: Alice, the county seat, is the site of the famous 1948 “Box 13” scandal. In that year’s disputed U.S. Senate Democratic primary runoff between Lyndon B. Johnson and Coke Stevenson, 202 additional ballots mysteriously surfaced from Precinct 13 in Alice six days after polls closed – 201 for Johnson, 1 for Stevenson – giving LBJ an 87-vote statewide victory that launched him toward the presidency. The controversy, later corroborated by an election judge’s confession decades afterward, remains one of the most notorious election disputes in American political history.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Jim Wells County Veteran’s Service Office – contact via co.jim-wells.tx.us; provides benefits assistance to veterans, widows, and dependents.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Alicia Salinas City of Alice Public Library – 401 East Third Street, Alice, TX 78332 | (361) 664-9506; serves the residents of Jim Wells County broadly, not just Alice; holds over 130,000 volumes and circulates over 105,000 items per year – a genuinely substantial collection for a county this size; supported by the Friends of the Jim Wells County Libraries.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lake Findley (also known as Lake Alice), a 247-acre reservoir on Chiltipin Creek about 1 mile north of Alice, was formed in 1965 and is managed by the City of Alice as a real local fishing and recreation destination. The South Texas Museum in Alice documents regional history, and the Orange Grove Museum preserves that community’s local heritage.
Notes: A modest, honest listing – the county’s most historically significant landmark by far is the Box 13 scandal site (see Section 8), not a park or natural feature.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Jim Wells County Appraisal District – 1600 E. Main St, Ste. 100, PO Box 607, Alice, TX 78332/78333 | (361) 668-9656 | jimwellscad.org
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Alice City Animal Control – 1150 Commerce Road, Alice, TX 78332; established 1994, an open-intake facility serving Jim Wells County broadly, not just city limits; works with rescue partners for placements.
Within San Diego: San Diego Animal Control – 804 East Juanita Street, San Diego, TX; offers licensing, lost-and-found assistance, adoptions, microchipping, surgeries, vaccination clinics, and cruelty investigations.
Notes: Confirm which facility serves your specific address, given the county’s multiple incorporated cities.
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: Jim Wells County is the first county in this batch (Jim Wells, Johnson, Jones, Karnes, Kaufman, Kendall, Kenedy). The 1948 “Box 13” scandal is genuinely one of the most historically significant and well-documented election controversies in American political history, directly tied to Lyndon B. Johnson’s rise to national power. 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 Jim Wells County
Jim Wells County is south Texas’s Tejano music birthplace county – Alice’s foundational role in the development of conjunto and Tejano music makes it one of the most culturally significant communities in Texas Latino musical heritage.
Alice (the county seat, population ~19,000) is where the recordings of Narciso Martinez and Lydia Mendoza in the 1930s established the musical vocabulary of Tejano – the accordion-driven, Spanish-language music that became one of American music’s most distinctive regional genres.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Jim Wells County Appraisal District at 1600 E. Main Street, Alice, TX 78332, phone 361-664-3351. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Jim Wells County District Clerk at 200 N. Almond Street, Alice, TX 78332, phone 361-668-5717, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
200 North Almond St, Alice, TX 78332
(361) 668-5717
DISTRICT CLERK
200 North Almond St, Alice, TX 78332
(361) 668-5717
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Jim Wells County Clerk’s Office, Alice (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Jim Wells 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, Jim Wells County PO Box 1459, Alice, TX 78332 (361) 668-5702 Jim Wells County is in South Texas, seated in Alice.
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 Jim Wells, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells 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
425 East Third St, Alice, TX 78332
(361) 668-5716
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
200 North Almond St, Alice, TX 78332
(361) 668-5717
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
200 North Almond St, Alice, TX 78332
(361) 668-5717
HHSC Office
2560 South Highway 281, Alice, TX 78332
(361) 668-4423
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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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Alice
Population: 39,000
Established: 1911
Tier: 3
Public Records
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