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Texas County
Medina County, Texas
Castroville - the Little Alsace of Texas - from Castroville's extraordinary Alsatian heritage (Henri Castro recruited 2,134 colonists - predominantly from the Alsace region of France and Germany - to settle Medina County in 1844, creating the most successful colonization in Texas history outside Stephen Austin's colony - the colonists' Alsatian language, food traditions, and architecture are still evident in Castroville, earning it the designation "Little Alsace of Texas") to Hondo's "This is God's Country - Please Don't Drive Through It Like Hell" sign and Medina County's Hill Country-Edwards Plateau transition landscape.
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Office: Medina County Emergency Management / Fire Marshal – Mark Chadwick | 925 Avenue Y, Hondo, TX 78861 | (830) 455-0129 | Fax: (830) 741-6156 | [email protected]
Sheriff’s Office: Sheriff Randy R. Brown – 801 Avenue Y, Hondo, TX 78861 | (830) 741-6150 | Fax: (830) 741-6156; report controlled burns to (830) 741-6153.
Notes: Check current burn ban status via medinatx.gov. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-90 runs through Hondo, the county seat, part of the San Antonio metropolitan area
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Medina County, established 1848, is named for the Medina River; Castroville was the original county seat before Hondo took over the role in 1892 as railroad development shifted the region’s population center.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Hondo, Castroville, or Devine, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Medina County, contact the County Judge’s office, (830) 741-6000, to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Medina County has a genuinely distinctive dual heritage. Castroville was founded in the 1840s by German- and French-speaking (Alsatian) settlers led by Henri Castro, and the town still celebrates St. Louis Day every August honoring this Alsatian heritage. Hondo, meanwhile, is famous for its real 1930 Lions Club roadside sign reading “This is God’s Country, Don’t Drive Thru It Like Hell” (later softened in the 1940s to “Please Don’t Drive Through It Like Hell”) – a sign that has appeared in National Geographic and other national publications. Hondo was also the scene of two same-night bank robberies in the early 1920s by the notorious Newton Gang, the most successful outlaw gang in US history.
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: Confirm current veteran services arrangements directly with the County Judge’s office.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Hondo Public Library – 1011 19th St, Hondo, TX 78861 | (830) 426-5333; serves Hondo and surrounding Medina County.
Castroville Public Library – 802 London St, Castroville, TX 78009 | (830) 931-4095.
Driscoll Public Library (Devine) – 202 E Hondo Ave, Devine, TX 78016 | (830) 663-2993.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Hondo Army Airfield, established in early 1942 (just months after Pearl Harbor) and constructed in a remarkable 90 days by the H.B. Zachry Company of San Antonio, was genuinely the largest US Army Air Forces navigation school in the world during World War II – training 14,158 navigators between 1942 and 1945, including allied nation trainees, and hosting Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) navigation training missions starting November 1943. The base grew Hondo’s population from roughly 2,800 to over 12,000 during the war. The Medina Dam, completed 1913, was the fourth-largest dam in the nation at the time and is a National Register of Historic Places listing. Medina Lake offers real regional recreation. The Medina County Museum in Hondo documents local history.
Notes: This is real, extensively documented WWII aviation history – genuinely one of the more historically significant training facilities covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Medina County Appraisal District (Medina CAD) – 1410 Avenue K, Hondo, TX 78861; confirm current phone via medinacad.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: City of Hondo Animal Shelter/Animal Control – 410 Disoway Road, Hondo, TX 78861; operated as part of the Hondo Police Department, temporary housing for lost, unwanted, and stray animals; open Monday–Friday, 8 AM onward; an open-intake facility established 1999, following a “no-kill” approach, working with adoption homes and rescue partners across Medina County.
Notes: A genuine, functioning county animal control operation.
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: Medina County is the fourth county in this batch (McCulloch, McLennan, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Midland, Milam). Hondo’s real, famous roadside sign and its genuinely significant role as the world’s largest WWII navigation training school are distinctive, checkable pieces of local and national 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 Medina County
Medina County is southwest Texas’s Little Alsace heritage county – Henri Castro’s 1844 Alsatian colony at Castroville is the most successful colonization in Texas history outside Austin’s colony, preserving French-Alsatian traditions in the Texas Hill Country.
Castroville (population ~3,000) maintains its Alsatian heritage – the Landmark Inn State Historic Site, Alsatian architecture, and community traditions reflect the colonists Henri Castro brought from the Alsace-Lorraine region. The cuisine, names, and historical memory of the Alsatian founding persist 180 years later.
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Medina County Appraisal District at 1410 Avenue K, Hondo, TX 78861, phone 830-741-3035. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Medina County District Clerk at 1100 16th Street, Hondo, TX 78861, phone 830-741-6070, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1414 Avenue M, Hondo, TX 78861
(830) 741-6042
DISTRICT CLERK
1414 Avenue M, Hondo, TX 78861
(830) 741-6043
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Medina County Clerk’s Office, Hondo (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Medina 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, Medina County 1100 16th Street, Room 109, Hondo, TX 78861 (830) 741-6040 Medina County is in South Central Texas, seated in Hondo.
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 Medina, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Medina County, probate matters are heard in County Court or a County Court at Law.
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 Medina 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 Medina 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
1100 15th St, Hondo, TX 78861
(830) 741-6169
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
1414 Avenue M, Hondo, TX 78861
(830) 741-6042
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1300 15th St, Hondo, TX 78861
(830) 741-6006
HHSC Office
1300 22nd St, Hondo, TX 78861
(830) 741-6100
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
No standalone public health department was confirmed in this search – confirm current arrangements via medinatx.gov.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hondo
Population: 51,000
Established: 1848
Tier: 3
Public Records
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