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Texas County
Reeves County, Texas
World's first rodeo and Pecos cantaloupe - from Pecos's claim as the site of the world's first rodeo (on July 4, 1883, cowboys from competing ranches gathered near Pecos to settle a dispute about riding and roping skills in what is widely recognized as the first organized rodeo competition, and the West of the Pecos Rodeo continues this tradition annually as one of Texas's most historic rodeo celebrations) to Pecos cantaloupes (the Pecos cantaloupe, grown in the area's unique soil and climate conditions along the Pecos River, achieved national fame as one of America's finest cantaloupes in the early 20th century, and the fruit remains a point of local pride even as production has declined from its peak).
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Office: Reeves County Sheriff’s Office – 500 South Oak Street, Pecos, TX 79772 | (432) 445-4901 | Fax (432) 445-9403; Sheriff Arturo Granado.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-20 and US-285 serve Pecos, the county seat and largest city, in the Trans-Pecos region of far West Texas, at the western edge of the Permian Basin’s intensively drilled Delaware Basin subregion.
Notes: Reeves County was created April 14, 1883, and organized November 4, 1884, named for George R. Reeves, a Texas state legislator and Confederate Army colonel. Recent Delaware Basin oil and gas activity has driven a significant workforce-housing and infrastructure surge in and around Pecos over the past decade.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Reeves County Courthouse – 100 E. 4th Street, Pecos, TX | (432) 287-0222.
Notes: City of Pecos handles its own in-city permitting separately from the county.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Reeves County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via reevescounty.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Reeves County Library (Pecos) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Pecos genuinely claims to have hosted the West’s first rodeo, a cowboy competition organized on July 4, 1883, when hands from competing area ranches gathered to settle a dispute over roping and riding skill; the town’s annual West of the Pecos Rodeo continues the tradition. The West of the Pecos Museum documents this Old West heritage and the region’s frontier history, including the broader legend of “Law West of the Pecos” – a nickname most closely associated with Judge Roy Bean, whose actual saloon-courthouse operated in Langtry, in neighboring Val Verde County, rather than in Pecos itself, a distinction worth noting given how often the two are conflated. Pecos cantaloupes, grown in the area’s distinctive soil and climate along the Pecos River, achieved national fame for their sweetness in the early 20th century and remain a source of local pride.
Notes: The now-closed Reeves County Detention Complex, a formerly privately operated immigration detention facility near Pecos that housed federal inmates from 1988 to 2006 before later closures in 2017 and 2022, has reportedly been under consideration for a new immigration detention role as of early 2026 – noted here factually as a matter of public record; confirm current status via reevescounty.org.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Reeves County Appraisal District – confirm current contact via reevescounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via reevescounty.org; Reeves County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Reeves County Transfer Station – contact Commissioners Court for hours/location. Environmental complaints: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) – tceq.texas.gov | (512) 239-1000; oilfield-related concerns: Texas Railroad Commission – rrc.texas.gov.
Notes: Delaware Basin oil and gas activity is the county’s dominant environmental and economic consideration.
NOTES: Reeves County sits at the heart of the Delaware Basin, one of the most intensively drilled subregions of the Permian Basin, a boom that has reshaped Pecos’s population and infrastructure demands. The town’s Old West rodeo heritage – and the frequent but geographically inaccurate association with Judge Roy Bean’s Langtry-based “Law West of the Pecos” legend – remain a proud local identity alongside this modern energy economy. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Reeves County
Reeves County is west Texas’s world’s first rodeo and Pecos River Trans-Pecos county – the pioneering 1883 rodeo and the famous Pecos cantaloupe give the county cultural landmarks while significant Permian Basin oil production and the Pecos River corridor define the contemporary economic and geographic character of this vast west Texas desert county.
Pecos (the county seat, population ~9,000) is Reeves County’s governmental and commercial hub, a Pecos River city whose rodeo heritage and oil field connections make it a regional center for the Trans-Pecos region.
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Reeves County Appraisal District at 401 E. 4th Street, Pecos, TX 79772, phone 432-445-5174.
Courts & Legal
Reeves County District Court at 100 E. 4th Street, Pecos, TX 79772, phone 432-445-5467, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 North Groom St, Pecos, TX 79772
(432) 445-5467
DISTRICT CLERK
100 North Groom St, Pecos, TX 79772
(432) 445-5467
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Reeves County Clerk’s Office, Pecos (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Reeves 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, Reeves County PO Box 867, Pecos, TX 79772 (432) 445-5467
Reeves County was created April 14, 1883, organized November 4, 1884, named for George R. Reeves, in West Texas, seated in Pecos.
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 Reeves, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Reeves 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 Reeves 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 Reeves 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
100 North Groom St, Pecos, TX 79772
(432) 445-4901
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
100 North Groom St, Pecos, TX 79772
(432) 445-5467
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
100 North Groom St, Pecos, TX 79772
(432) 445-5467
HHSC Office
1300 Cedar St, Pecos, TX 79772
(432) 445-4993
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Reeves County Health services, delivered via regional West Texas partnership – confirm current contact via reevescounty.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Pecos
Population: 14,000
Established: 1883
Tier: 3
Public Records
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