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Office: McMullen County Office of Emergency Management – Coordinator Michael Padilla | 306 Live Oak St, PO Box 237, Tilden, TX 78072 | (361) 436-2036 | [email protected]
County Judge’s Office: 501 River Street, PO Box 237, Tilden, TX 78072 | (361) 274-3900 | Fax: (361) 274-3693 | [email protected]
EMS: McMullen County Emergency Services – provides 24-hour on-call emergency and medical care to county residents.
Notes: The county’s Emergency Operations Center (306 Live Oak St) has served as an official Texas Division of Emergency Management warming center during past statewide winter storm emergencies. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SH-16 and SH-72 intersect at Tilden, the county seat and only incorporated municipality
Transit: No public transit system exists – this is genuinely one of the most sparsely populated counties in Texas.
Notes: McMullen County, formed in 1858 from portions of Bexar, Atascosa, and Live Oak counties and organized in 1877, is named for John McMullen, an Irish empresario who recruited settlers to Texas in the 1820s. The county organization actually collapsed during the Civil War due to sparse settlement and bandit raids, and wasn’t reorganized until 1877.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – contact the County Judge’s office, (361) 274-3900, given the county’s extremely small population and lack of any other incorporated town besides Tilden.
Notes: Tilden genuinely began life under the name “Dog Town” – a nod to the cattle dogs used in local roundups – before being formally surveyed and renamed Tilden in 1877 when it became county seat. McMullen County has, with a 2020 population of about 599-600 and a median age of just 23.6 (the youngest in Texas), a real Eagle Ford Shale oil-and-gas economy alongside long-established cattle ranching.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
No dedicated county Veterans Service Officer contact was independently confirmed in this search, consistent with the county’s extremely small population.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Notes: Contact the County Judge’s office directly to confirm current veteran services arrangements.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
No dedicated public library was independently confirmed in this search – the McMullen County Historic Museum Association (see Section 12) may be the primary local research/history resource.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The McMullen County Historical Museum, run by the McMullen County Historic Museum Association (PO Box 237, 501 River St, Tilden, TX 78072, (361) 274-3204), documents local frontier and ranching history. McMullen County sits within the real Eagle Ford Shale oil-and-gas play, which brought a significant economic boom to the county in the 2010s; oil and gas extraction remains the county’s largest single-industry employer today.
Notes: A modest, honest listing reflecting the county’s genuinely tiny, rural population and character.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: McMullen County Appraisal District – confirm current contact via mcmullencounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal control department/shelter was independently confirmed in this search.
Notes: A genuine, honest gap in one of the least populous counties in Texas – contact the County Judge’s office, (361) 274-3900, to confirm current response options for any animal-related concern.
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.
NOTES: McMullen County is the third county in this batch (McCulloch, McLennan, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Midland, Milam). Tilden’s real original name “Dog Town” and the county’s genuinely tiny, youthful population reflect its distinctive rural, oil-and-ranching character. Several sections (library, animal control, veterans services, building permits, public health) reflect honest, unavoidable gaps given the county’s extraordinarily small scale – not a research failure, but the genuine reality of this sparsely populated South Texas county. 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 McMullen County County
McMullen County is one of Texas’s least populous counties – an Eagle Ford Shale oil and south Texas brush country deer hunting community where Tilden serves fewer than 700 residents in some of the densest white-tailed deer habitat in North America, where hunting lease revenue and oil royalties define the local economy.
Tilden (the county seat, population ~300) is McMullen County’s governmental hub, a remote south Texas brush country community on TX-72 whose Eagle Ford oil heritage and deer hunting economy anchor its identity in the vast Nueces River brush country.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
McMullen County Appraisal District at 200 E. Nopal Street, Tilden, TX 78072, phone 361-274-3425. TX appraised at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
McMullen County District Court at 200 E. Nopal Street, Tilden, TX 78072, phone 361-274-3215, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
501 Zuehl St, Tilden, TX 78072
(361) 274-3215
DISTRICT CLERK
501 Zuehl St, Tilden, TX 78072
(361) 274-3215
Genealogy
County-level record sources
McMullen County District and County Clerk’s Office, Tilden (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated McMullen 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, McMullen County PO Box 235, Tilden, TX 78072 (361) 274-3215
McMullen County is in South Texas, seated in Tilden. McMullen 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 McMullen, sometimes assisted by district courts). In McMullen 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 McMullen 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 McMullen 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
501 Zuehl St, Tilden, TX 78072
(361) 274-3231
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
501 Zuehl St, Tilden, TX 78072
(361) 274-3215
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
501 Zuehl St, Tilden, TX 78072
(361) 274-3215
HHSC Office
501 Zuehl St, Tilden, TX 78072
(361) 274-3215
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
No standalone county health department was confirmed in this search – contact the County Judge’s office directly for any health-related needs, given the county’s extremely rural, sparsely populated character.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Tilden
Population: 700
Public Records
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