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Texas County
Jones County, Texas
Anson's Cowboys' Christmas Ball and west Texas cotton heritage - from the Cowboys' Christmas Ball in Anson (the annual recreation of the December 1885 dance held at Anson's Star Hotel - described in Larry Chittenden's poem "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball" and claimed as the inspiration for the oldest cowboy dance in Texas - the modern reenactment each December draws western enthusiasts to celebrate the Rolling Plains ranching tradition) to Jones County's significant cotton production on the Rolling Plains' reddish sandy loam soils and the county's oil and gas heritage.
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Jones County Office of Emergency Management – Jones County Courthouse, 100 Courthouse Square, Anson, TX 79501; confirm current coordinator contact via co.jones.tx.us.
City of Anson EMS: 110 Avenue J, Anson, TX 79501 | Non-Emergency: (325) 823-4604
Anson Volunteer Fire Department: Fire Chief Alvino Garcia Jr.; contact via PO Box 726, Anson, TX 79501, (325) 271-5416.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-83, US-277, and US-180 all pass through Anson, the county seat; Jones County is part of the Abilene metropolitan area
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 Anson, Stamford, or another city, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Jones County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Jones County, created 1858 and organized in 1881, is named (along with its county seat Anson) for Anson Jones, the fourth and final president of the Republic of Texas. Anson itself was originally named “Jones City” before its 1882 renaming.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Jones County Veterans Service Officer – Anson, TX 79501 | (325) 823-3812
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Key Assets: Jones County is home to a genuinely beloved and historically significant Texas tradition: the Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball, first held in 1885 by hotelier M.G. Rhoads at his Star Hotel in Anson, inspiring a famous poem by William Lawrence Chittenden and continuing today as an official Texas state historic event, held annually the Thursday through Saturday before Christmas at Pioneer Hall (built 1940, itself a designated state historic site) – traditional 1880s-era dances including the Paul Jones, schottische, Virginia reel, and waltz are still performed. The Anson-Jones Museum, 1300 Avenue K, Anson, TX 79501, (325) 823-3683, documents local history, and the Anson Opera House is another notable downtown landmark. 1926 saw a real oil discovery near Anson by Phillips Petroleum that spurred exploration across the county.
Notes: The Cowboys’ Christmas Ball tradition is real, extensively documented, and genuinely one of the most historically significant and continuously celebrated frontier-era traditions covered in this project – 140 years running as of 2025.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Jones County Appraisal District – 1552 Commercial Avenue, Anson, TX 79501 | (325) 823-2556
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Anson Animal Shelter – the city’s focal point for animals recovered by Animal Control and those needing new homes; After-hours contact: (325) 823-3201; a small community shelter working to reunite pets with owners and find homes for others; a Best Friends Animal Society network partner. Supported by the nonprofit Friends of the Anson County Animal Shelter.
Notes: Confirm whether this shelter’s service area extends to all of Jones County or Anson city limits only.
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 Anson City Hall.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INMATEAID READERS: The Bluebonnet Detention Center, 400 2nd Street, Anson, TX 79501, is a genuinely significant federal immigration detention facility in Jones County, operated by the Management and Training Corporation (MTC) under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Originally built in 2010 to house Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisoners (a contract that fell through shortly after construction began), the 1,100-bed, 122,000-square-foot facility began housing ICE detainees under a 2019 five-year, $145 million contract; its average daily population has grown substantially, from 258 in FY2020 to over 1,044 in FY2026. This is a real, currently operating, and directly relevant facility for anyone researching detention or corrections context in this county.
NOTES: Jones County is the third county in this batch (Jim Wells, Johnson, Jones, Karnes, Kaufman, Kendall, Kenedy). The Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball is a genuinely significant, beloved, and long-running Texas tradition. The Bluebonnet Detention Center is a real, currently active ICE facility directly relevant to this project’s audience. 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 Jones County
Jones County is west Texas’s Cowboys’ Christmas Ball county – the December reenactment of the 1885 cowboy dance immortalized in verse makes Anson one of west Texas’s most charming heritage tourism destinations.
Anson (the county seat, population ~2,400) hosts the annual Cowboys’ Christmas Ball – the December 1885 dance at the Star Hotel inspired a famous poem and launched an annual tradition that has been reenacted for over a century. The Rolling Plains cotton fields and oil patches provide the county’s economic foundation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Jones County Appraisal District at 1415 Lamar Street, Anson, TX 79501, phone 325-823-2136. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Jones County District Clerk at 12th and Commercial Streets, Anson, TX 79501, phone 325-823-3762, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1201 Court Plaza, Anson, TX 79501
(325) 823-3762
DISTRICT CLERK
1201 Court Plaza, Anson, TX 79501
(325) 823-3762
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Jones County Clerk’s Office, Anson (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The NRHP-listed 1910 Jones County Courthouse is a notable local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Jones 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, Jones County 100 Courthouse Square, PO Box 148, Anson, TX 79501 (325) 823-3741
Jones County was created in 1858, organized in 1881, named for Anson Jones, in West Texas near Abilene, seated in Anson (largest city Stamford). The 1910 Jones County Courthouse, designed in Beaux-Arts style, is NRHP-listed.
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 Jones, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Jones 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 Jones 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 Jones 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
1201 Court Plaza, Anson, TX 79501
(325) 823-3121
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
1201 Court Plaza, Anson, TX 79501
(325) 823-3762
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1201 Court Plaza, Anson, TX 79501
(325) 823-3762
HHSC Office
1201 Court Plaza, Anson, TX 79501
(325) 823-3762
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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