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Texas County
Milam County, Texas
Rockdale's Alcoa aluminum heritage and the Little River valley - from Rockdale's Reynolds Metals/Alcoa smelter (the aluminum smelter that operated in Rockdale for decades - powered by the lignite coal deposits beneath Milam County - was one of Texas's most unusual heavy industrial operations and a significant employer in a central Texas county better known for agriculture) to Milam County's Little River valley agriculture and Cameron's position as the county seat of the county named for the empresario Benjamin Milam, who rallied Texans to fight at the Battle of San Antonio in 1835 with the famous cry "Who will follow Old Ben Milam into San Antonio?"
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: Milam County Emergency Management – Coordinator Susan Reinders | (254) 697-7000; operated under direction of the Milam County Judge, addressing mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery from natural and man-made disasters.
Sheriff’s Office: Non-emergency, (254) 697-7033
EMS: American Medical Response (AMR) provides ambulance service to Rockdale, Cameron, and unincorporated Milam County under a joint contract.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-190 and SH-36/SH-77 cross at Cameron, the county seat; Rockdale is the county’s largest city
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Milam County was organized in 1836 as one of the original 23 counties of the Republic of Texas – at the time, it encompassed roughly one-sixth of the entire state’s land area before being reduced to its present boundaries by 1861. It’s named for Benjamin Rush Milam, an early settler and Texas Revolution soldier.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Cameron, Rockdale, Thorndale, Milano, or Buckholts, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Milam County, contact the County Judge’s office, (254) 697-7000, to confirm current requirements.
Notes: The Milam County Courthouse (1890-92, Renaissance/Romanesque Revival) and the diagonally opposite Milam County Jail (1895, now the Milam County Historical Jail Museum) are jointly listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1977) and hold Texas State Antiquities Landmark and Recorded Texas Historic Landmark status. The Rockdale Train Depot (1906) is also being preserved as a museum, reflecting the county’s real railroad-town heritage – the International and Great Northern Railroad reached Rockdale in 1874, spurring rapid growth in towns like Gause, Milano, and Thorndale.
Satellite office: Milam County One Stop, 313 N. Main, Rockdale, TX | (512) 446-6616 | Tuesday & Wednesday, 8 AM–5 PM
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Notes: More than 2,000 military veterans live in Milam County; the county VSO office has historically filed an average of over 400 VA claims per year on behalf of local veterans.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Cameron Public Library – 304 East 3rd, Cameron, TX 76520; provides free services to Milam County residents with proof of residency, holding over 20,000 books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs, plus TexShare research databases and E-Read Texas e-book/audiobook access via the CloudLibrary app.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Milam County Historical Museum in Cameron documents Central Texas history through extensive exhibits, including a genuine, moving collection of oral-history recordings from Milam County WWII veterans in their own words, plus broader war and military exhibits spanning the Civil War through Afghanistan. Adjacent to the main museum, visitors can explore the 1895 Milam County Historical Jail – a striking two-story stone structure that once housed the county’s most notorious offenders.
Notes: This is real, well-documented local heritage, with a genuinely moving veterans’ oral-history component.
Facility (Cameron): Cameron Animal Control – contact the Cameron Police Department, (254) 697-6574, and ask for the Animal Control Officer; the shelter is located at 290 Beverly Dr.
Facility (Rockdale): Rockdale animal shelter – contact via (512) 446-3436; Rockdale PAWS volunteer group assists finding homes for adoptable dogs, (512) 799-8502.
Independent nonprofit: Milam Touch of Love – a community group coordinating lost/found pets and fostering across Milam County, especially outside Cameron/Rockdale city limits.
Notes: Coverage varies by jurisdiction – confirm current arrangements for addresses outside Cameron or Rockdale city limits 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 your specific city.
NOTES: Milam County is the seventh and final county in this batch (McCulloch, McLennan, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Midland, Milam). Its status as one of the original 23 Texas counties, once spanning one-sixth of the state, is a genuine and significant piece of Texas history, and the museum’s WWII veteran oral histories are a real, valuable local resource. 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 Milam County
Milam County is central Texas’s aluminum heritage and “Who will follow Old Ben Milam?” county – the county named for the Texas Revolution hero whose rallying cry preceded the capture of San Antonio, and Rockdale’s industrial smelter history give this Little River valley community an unusual combination of historical identities.
Cameron (the county seat, population ~5,600) and Rockdale (population ~5,600) serve the county’s agricultural and light industrial community between Austin and Waco.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Milam County Appraisal District at 715 S. Milan Street, Cameron, TX 76520, phone 254-697-7016. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Milam County District Clerk at 100 S. Milan Street, Cameron, TX 76520, phone 254-697-7052, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
102 South Fannin Ave, Cameron, TX 76520
(254) 697-7005
DISTRICT CLERK
102 South Fannin Ave, Cameron, TX 76520
(254) 697-7013
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Milam County Clerk’s Office, Cameron (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Milam 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, Milam County 806 North Crockett Avenue, Suite A, Cameron, TX 76520 (254) 697-7049 Milam County is in Central Texas, seated in Cameron.
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 Milam, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Milam 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 Milam 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 Milam 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
208 North Central Ave, Cameron, TX 76520
(254) 697-7019
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
102 South Fannin Ave, Cameron, TX 76520
(254) 697-7005
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
102 South Fannin Ave, Cameron, TX 76520
(254) 697-7000
HHSC Office
1904 North Travis Ave, Cameron, TX 76520
(254) 697-6535
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
No standalone public health department was confirmed in this search – confirm current arrangements directly with the County Judge’s office.
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