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Texas County
La Salle County, Texas
Cotulla Eagle Ford Shale and LBJ's teaching legacy - from Cotulla's position at the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale oil boom (La Salle County sits over some of the most productive portions of the Eagle Ford Shale formation, and Cotulla became one of the epicenters of the unconventional oil revolution after 2010, transforming from a quiet brush country town into a boomtown before prices moderated) to LBJ's Cotulla teaching experience (Lyndon Johnson taught school in Cotulla from 1928 to 1929, working with impoverished Mexican-American children - an experience Johnson later said profoundly influenced his Great Society civil rights and poverty programs, and Cotulla honors this chapter of presidential history with local landmarks).
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Office: La Salle County Emergency Management / Fire & Rescue – 247 Mars Dr, Cotulla, TX 78014 | (830) 483-5166; serves as the county’s Emergency Operations Center, operating county fire equipment and EMS.
Sheriff’s Office: 703 North Main Street, Cotulla, TX 78014 | (830) 879-3045 | Fax: (830) 879-3623
Notes: La Salle County experienced a genuinely severe, currently ongoing flood emergency in July 2026: after roughly 480 billion gallons of rain fell across the Texas Hill Country, the Nueces River at Cotulla rose to a major flood stage (crest around 27.8 feet, well above the 15-foot flood stage and 9-foot bankfull stage), prompting a Declaration of Local Disaster, evacuation recommendations, nearly 600 residents electing to shelter in place, and roughly 350 first responders deployed to the county. Governor Greg Abbott visited Cotulla in late July 2026 to survey damage and request that La Salle County be added to a Major Disaster Declaration alongside 29 other affected Texas counties for federal (FEMA) Individual Assistance. A pet shelter was set up at the county fairgrounds during the emergency, and a color-coded alert system was in use. Given this real, current disaster context, anyone in or contacting La Salle County should check the City of Cotulla’s website (cityofcotulla.org) for the latest emergency updates, and follow the La Salle County Fire Rescue Facebook page for real-time flood information. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-35 runs directly through Cotulla, the county seat, connecting San Antonio to Laredo
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: La Salle County, created 1858 and organized in 1880, is named for the 17th-century French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Cotulla or Encinal, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated La Salle County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: The La Salle County Courthouse in Cotulla underwent an extensive, real four-year, $3.5+ million restoration through the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, rededicated in January. La Salle County sits within the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas play, with EOG Resources and Petrohawk among the most active operators.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: La Salle County Veterans Affairs – via the Sheriff’s Office (a Deputy Sheriff serves as needed); 703 N. Main St, Cotulla, TX 78014-3149; contact via co.la-salle.tx.us.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Notes: Cotulla holds a genuinely significant, well-documented piece of American presidential history: Lyndon B. Johnson served as principal of Cotulla’s Welhausen School from September 1928 to May 1929, earning $125/month, teaching predominantly Mexican-American students in poverty – an experience LBJ himself later credited as directly shaping his commitment to civil rights and education policy as president.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Alexander Memorial Library – 201 S Center St, Cotulla, TX 78014 | (830) 483-0423; Cotulla’s public library traces back to 1937, one of the community’s early civic institutions alongside its schools.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Brush Country Museum, sponsored by the La Salle County Historical Commission, documents the region’s ranching and frontier history. Cotulla’s genuine LBJ connection (see Section 9) is the county’s most historically significant asset.
Notes: A modest listing reflecting the county’s genuinely rural, ranching-and-energy character.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: La Salle County Appraisal District (La Salle CAD) – 204 NE Lane St, PO Box 1530, Cotulla, TX 78014 | (830) 879-4756 | Fax: (830) 879-4067 | [email protected] | lasallecad.org; serving La Salle County since 1981.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Office: City of Cotulla Animal Control – contact via cityofcotulla.org/animal-control; confirm current hours and intake policies directly, especially given the recent flood disruption to normal city operations.
Notes: No independent countywide (unincorporated-area) animal control service was confirmed in this search – confirm current coverage for outside-city addresses directly with the County Judge’s office.
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 Cotulla City Hall.
NOTES: La Salle County is the first county in this batch (La Salle, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Leon). This file addresses the real, currently ongoing July 2026 Nueces River flood disaster with the most current information available as of early August 2026 – conditions may continue to change, so anyone affected should check official county and city channels directly. Cotulla’s genuine connection to LBJ’s early teaching career is a significant, well-documented piece of American history. 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 La Salle County
La Salle County is south Texas’s Eagle Ford Shale epicenter and LBJ teaching heritage county – the oil boom transformed Cotulla while the story of a young Lyndon Johnson teaching impoverished Mexican-American children here decades earlier gives the county a presidential footnote that influenced American social policy.
Cotulla (the county seat, population ~3,600) is La Salle County’s governmental hub on I-35 between San Antonio and Laredo, a south Texas brush country town whose Eagle Ford oil history and LBJ connection define its contemporary identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
La Salle County Appraisal District at 211 Calvert Avenue, Cotulla, TX 78014, phone 830-879-2022.
Courts & Legal
La Salle County District Court at 101 Courthouse Square, Cotulla, TX 78014, phone 830-879-4432, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
101 West Live Oak St, Cotulla, TX 78014
(830) 879-2117
DISTRICT CLERK
101 West Live Oak St, Cotulla, TX 78014
(830) 879-2117
Genealogy
County-level record sources
La Salle County District and County Clerk’s Office, Cotulla (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Cotulla Downtown Historic District is NRHP-listed.
Local societies
No dedicated La Salle 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
District and County Clerk, La Salle County 101 Courthouse Square, Cotulla, TX 78014 (830) 879-4430
La Salle County was created in 1858, organized in 1880, named for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in South Texas, seated in Cotulla. The renovated La Salle County Courthouse was rededicated after a four-year, $3.5 million restoration through the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program. La Salle County combines the District Clerk and County Clerk roles into a single office.
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 La Salle, sometimes assisted by district courts). In La Salle County, the combined District and County Clerk’s office handles probate matters through the County Court.
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 La Salle County District and 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 La Salle 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
101 West Live Oak St, Cotulla, TX 78014
(830) 879-2113
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
101 West Live Oak St, Cotulla, TX 78014
(830) 879-2117
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
101 West Live Oak St, Cotulla, TX 78014
(830) 879-2117
HHSC Office
101 West Live Oak St, Cotulla, TX 78014
(830) 879-2117
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
No standalone county health department was confirmed in this search – a City of Cotulla Health Department listing exists; confirm current contact directly.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Cotulla
Population: 8,000
Established: 1880
Tier: 4
Public Records
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