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Office: Sherman County Emergency Management – Sherman County Courthouse, 701 N 3rd St, Stratford, TX 79084 | (806) 366-2021 | Fax: (806) 366-3011
EMS: Stratford EMS – the exclusive Emergency Medical Services provider for all of Sherman County, covering roughly 900 square miles in the Texas Panhandle.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-54 and US-287 serve Stratford, the county seat, about 80 miles north of Amarillo near the Oklahoma border
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Sherman County, created in 1889, is named for Sidney Sherman, a veteran of the Texas Revolution. It sits in the High Plains region of the northern Panhandle, drained by the North Fork of the Canadian River along with Frisco, Coldwater, and North Palo Duro creeks.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Stratford Building/Permits – confirm current contact via stratfordtx.us; for unincorporated Sherman County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Sherman County’s original county seat was Coldwater, founded on a ranch owned by William B. Slaughter (son of noted cattleman C.C. Slaughter). By 1891, Coldwater had a hotel, courthouse, jail, and mercantile store, plus its own newspaper (the Sherman County Banner, started 1893). But the railroads bypassed the town, and an 1901 election moved the county seat to Stratford. Coldwater’s post office closed in 1907, and by 1940 only the old brick courthouse remained, later used as a rural church – a genuine, well-documented Texas Panhandle ghost town, now the site of the Coldwater gas field.
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: NAMING TRAP – “Stratford” also refers to a town in Connecticut; confirm Texas results specifically when searching.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
No dedicated public library contact was independently confirmed in this search – confirm current library access via co.sherman.tx.us or the City of Stratford.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Sherman County Depot Museum in Stratford documents the region’s ranching and railroad history. The Coldwater ghost town site – including the old brick courthouse building – remains a real, checkable piece of Panhandle frontier history for anyone interested in the county’s origins.
Notes: A relatively quiet, agriculture-focused Panhandle county without extensively documented tourism infrastructure beyond its local history museum.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Sherman County Appraisal District – Chief Appraiser Courtney Copley | 402 N. 3rd St, PO Box 239, Stratford, TX 79084 | (806) 366-5566 | Fax: (806) 366-2565
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Stratford Animal Control/Shelter – operated by the City of Stratford; non-emergency calls are not answered after 5:00 PM (leave contact information for follow-up); owner surrenders are by appointment only; facility is open seven days a week, though hours vary since Animal Control Officers split time between shelter duties and field calls.
Notes: Confirm whether unincorporated Sherman County has separate animal control coverage from the city shelter.
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 Stratford.
NOTES: Sherman County is the second county in this batch (Shelby, Sherman, Smith, Somervell, Starr, Stephens, Sterling). NAMING TRAP: Sherman County, TX (Stratford) is a small Panhandle county distinct from the city of Sherman, TX (in Grayson County) – confirm which is meant before citing sources. The real Coldwater ghost-town history is a distinctive, checkable local fact. 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 Sherman County County
Sherman County is the northern Texas Panhandle’s Dust Bowl heritage and wheat farming county – the black blizzards that defined the 1930s environmental catastrophe and the winter wheat fields that replaced the displaced dryland farms define a remote county where Stratford serves the farming communities near the Oklahoma and New Mexico borders.
Stratford (the county seat, population ~2,000) is Sherman County’s governmental hub on US 287, a northern Panhandle wheat farming community whose Dust Bowl heritage, flat plains landscape, and agricultural economy anchor its identity near the tristate corner.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Sherman County Appraisal District at 701 N. 3rd Street, Stratford, TX 79084, phone 806-366-2024. TX appraised at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Sherman County District Court at 701 N. 3rd Street, Stratford, TX 79084, phone 806-366-2371, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
500 Broadway St, Stratford, TX 79084
(806) 366-2321
DISTRICT CLERK
500 Broadway St, Stratford, TX 79084
(806) 366-2321
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sherman County District and County Clerk’s Office, Stratford (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Sherman 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, Sherman County PO Box 270, Stratford, TX 79084 (806) 366-2371
Sherman County is in the Texas Panhandle, seated in Stratford. Sherman 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 Sherman, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Sherman 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 Sherman 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 Sherman 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
500 Broadway St, Stratford, TX 79084
(806) 366-2323
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
500 Broadway St, Stratford, TX 79084
(806) 366-2321
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
500 Broadway St, Stratford, TX 79084
(806) 366-2321
HHSC Office
500 Broadway St, Stratford, TX 79084
(806) 366-2321
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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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Stratford
Population: 2,900
Public Records
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