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Texas County
Sabine County, Texas
Toledo Bend Reservoir and Sabine National Forest - from Toledo Bend Reservoir (the massive 185,000-acre reservoir on the Sabine River shared between Texas and Louisiana is one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States, and Sabine County's shoreline provides excellent largemouth bass fishing, camping, and water recreation access to one of the South's premier reservoir fisheries) to Sabine National Forest (the national forest covering significant portions of Sabine County protects old-growth pine and hardwood forest, providing hiking, hunting, and backcountry recreation in one of East Texas's most authentically wild landscapes).
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Office: Sabine County Emergency Management – Coordinator David Roach | contact via co.sabine.tx.us
911/Addressing: E-911 Coordinator John Brewton – 280 Main St, Suite 103, Hemphill, TX 75948 | (409) 787-5260 | Fax: (409) 220-8304
Sheriff’s Office: Sheriff George Griffith – 310 Main St, Hemphill, TX 75948 | (409) 787-2266 | Fax: (409) 787-2150
EMS: Sabine County EMS – 244 South Oak Street, Hemphill, TX 75948; operated by the Sabine County Hospital District, under medical direction of Dr. Gregory Backofen since 2019.
Notes: The county issued a public notice regarding a January 2026 winter ice storm – monitor co.sabine.tx.us for current weather alerts. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SH-87 and SH-184 meet at Hemphill, the county seat, surrounded by the Sabine National Forest and Toledo Bend Reservoir
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Sabine County, created in 1837, is named for the Sabine River. Hemphill was named for John Hemphill, an early Texas judge, legal scholar, and later U.S. Senator; the county seat moved here from Milam in 1858 to be more centrally located.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Hemphill Building/Permits handles permits within city limits; for unincorporated Sabine County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: The Sabine County Courthouse (completed around 1910) anchors one of the most distinctive courthouse squares in East Texas, surrounded by antique stores and gift shops, with locals still gathering to play dominoes beneath an old cedar tree on the square’s corner. The old county jail, built in 1903, was later converted into a combined museum and library. Sabine County was genuinely home to three signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence – John S. Roberts, James Gaines, and William Clark Jr. – as well as John C. Hale, a martyr of the Battle of San Jacinto.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Sabine County Veterans Service Officer Thomas “Shorty” Warren – PO Box 536, Hemphill, TX 75948 | (409) 787-2409 (office) | Fax: (409) 787-4753 | [email protected] | Hours: Monday–Wednesday, 8 AM–4 PM (Courthouse Annex, 213 Market St)
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Arthur Temple Senior Memorial Library – Hemphill, TX; confirm current hours via the Sabine County Chamber of Commerce or co.sabine.tx.us.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Toledo Bend Reservoir – a genuine 185,000-acre lake on the Texas-Louisiana border, maintained by the Sabine River Authority of Texas, with over 1,200 miles of shoreline – has real, significant national recognition: Bassmaster Magazine named it #1 on its “100 Best Bass Lakes” list for both 2015 and 2016, and Sabine County proudly bills itself “The Fishing Capital of the World.” The 160,873-acre Sabine National Forest, the easternmost of Texas’s four national forests, was established October 13, 1936 and features the 28-mile Trail Between the Lakes hiking trail; the Civilian Conservation Corps built the Red Hills Lake Recreation Area and the Boles Field Campground (with pavilion and amphitheater) here in the 1930s, planting thousands of pine trees. The Indian Mounds Wilderness Area, 9,946 acres set aside by Congress in 1984, is administered by the Yellow Pines Ranger District. Nearly 100 historic cemeteries dot the county, including the Springhill Cemetery west of Hemphill, home to one of the oldest marked graves in the region.
Notes: Real, extensively documented Piney Woods recreation and Texas Revolution-era history – a genuinely fishing/outdoors-rich county.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Sabine County Appraisal District – 1920 Worth Street, Hemphill, TX 75948 | (409) 787-2777
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No county-run animal shelter or animal control department currently exists in Sabine County.
Independent nonprofit: Barking Mad Animal Rescue (BMAR) – a no-kill rescue serving Sabine, Shelby, San Augustine, and Jasper counties since 2006 (formally incorporated 2014); funded entirely by private donations with no government funding; best reached by text or email due to limited cell signal in the rural area.
Notes: This is a genuine, confirmed gap – Sabine County has no government-run shelter or SPCA, leaving the volunteer-run BMAR as the primary local resource for stray or at-risk animals.
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 City of Hemphill.
NOTES: Sabine County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Refugio, Roberts, Robertson, Rockwall, Runnels, Rusk, Sabine). Toledo Bend Reservoir’s real national bass-fishing recognition and the county’s genuine Texas Revolution-era heritage (three Declaration signers) are distinctive, checkable local facts. 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 Sabine County
Sabine County is deep East Texas’s Toledo Bend fishing and Sabine National Forest county – the massive reservoir fishery and protected national forest lands define a county whose Piney Woods character and outdoor recreation economy attract anglers and nature enthusiasts to one of Texas’s most authentically forested eastern corners.
Hemphill (the county seat, population ~1,100) is Sabine County’s governmental hub, a deep East Texas Piney Woods town serving the county’s rural and lake communities near the Louisiana border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Sabine County Appraisal District at 323 N. Charlton Street, Hemphill, TX 75948, phone 409-787-2335.
Courts & Legal
Sabine County District Court at 213 N. Charlton Street, Hemphill, TX 75948, phone 409-787-3786, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
200 South Nichols St, Hemphill, TX 75948
(409) 787-3786
DISTRICT CLERK
200 South Nichols St, Hemphill, TX 75948
(409) 787-3786
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sabine County Clerk’s Office, Hemphill (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Sabine 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, Sabine County 280 Main Street, Suite 100, Hemphill, TX 75948 (409) 787-3786 Sabine County is in the East Texas Piney Woods near the Louisiana border, seated in Hemphill.
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 Sabine, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Sabine 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 Sabine 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 Sabine 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
200 South Nichols St, Hemphill, TX 75948
(409) 787-3016
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
200 South Nichols St, Hemphill, TX 75948
(409) 787-3786
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
200 South Nichols St, Hemphill, TX 75948
(409) 787-3786
HHSC Office
200 South Nichols St, Hemphill, TX 75948
(409) 787-3786
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Facility: Sabine County Hospital – 2301 Worth St, Hemphill, TX 75948 | (409) 787-3300; open 24 hours daily, operates the county EMS service.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hemphill
Population: 10,500
Established: 1836
Tier: 3
Public Records
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