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Texas · North Texas · #468 Most Populous County in the US
Wichita County, Texas
North Texas's Red River regional hub - from Wichita Falls's "Wichita Falls" waterfall (rebuilt after the original dried up), Sheppard Air Force Base's NATO pilot training mission, and Midwestern State University to the Red River crossing into Oklahoma and the oil patch communities of the Permian Basin's northern extension. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Wichita County residents.
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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Wichita County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Wichita County Emergency Management – Coordinator Lee Bourgoin | 110 Jefferson Street, Wichita Falls, TX 76306 | (940) 763-0820 | Fax: (940) 763-0746
City OEM: City of Wichita Falls Emergency Management – (940) 761-7632 | 1300 7th St, Wichita Falls, TX 76307
Notes: As a major manufacturing and distribution center, Wichita County also monitors for hazardous material incidents alongside typical severe-weather threats (tornadoes, floods, storms). During activation, the county deploys a specially equipped Mobile Incident command post vehicle. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-44 and US-287 serve Wichita Falls, the county seat and largest city
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Wichita Falls was platted and named in 1876 for a genuine waterfall on the Wichita River; a flood destroyed the original waterfall in 1886. In 1987, the city built a 54-foot artificial waterfall in Lucy Park to commemorate the town’s namesake – a real, deliberate recreation of the original landmark.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Wichita Falls Building/Permits – confirm current contact via wichitafallstx.gov; for unincorporated Wichita County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Wichita Falls is genuinely home to the Newby-McMahon Building, popularly known as the “World’s Littlest Skyscraper” – a real 1919-era swindle. Investors were promised a full-scale skyscraper providing much-needed office space during an oil boom, but contractor J.D. McMahon built the structure using dimensions in inches rather than feet on the blueprints, resulting in a building only 40 feet tall, 18 feet deep, and 10 feet wide (roughly 108 square feet of usable interior floor space). A judge later upheld the contract since the blueprints technically matched what was built. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! popularized the building’s nickname in 1920, and it remains a beloved local landmark today – part of the Depot Square Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places listing.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Wichita County Veterans Service Office – County Courthouse Annex, 600 Scott St, Suite 203, Wichita Falls, TX 76301 | (940) 716-8599 | Fax: (940) 766-8139 | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM-12 PM. Officers include Tina Jones and Jason Makepeace.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Notes: The office runs a real, nationally and locally recognized “No Veteran Left Behind” initiative – Veterans Service Officer Tina Jones has received both local and national recognition for the program, which reduced wait times and more than doubled VA disability claims filed in early 2024 compared to the prior year. The office regularly participates in Sheppard Air Force Base’s Transition Assistance Program to help service members prepare for civilian life.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Wichita Falls Public Library – hosts community events including veteran resource fairs; confirm current address/phone via wichitafallstx.gov.
Historic resource: Kemp Center for the Arts, 1300 Lamar Street – housed in the city’s original 1916 public library building, funded through a real community fundraising effort after Mrs. Kemp asked her husband, businessman Joseph Alexander Kemp, to build one; the community donated 4,000 books in 1918.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Newby-McMahon Building “World’s Littlest Skyscraper” (see above) is a genuine, beloved local curiosity. Lucy Park’s 54-foot artificial waterfall commemorates the city’s real namesake landmark. The River Bend Nature Center, adjacent to the waterfall, showcases native ecosystems in a 7,000-square-foot glass structure and 17-acre wetland. The Wichita Falls Museum of Art (Midwestern State University) and the Kell House Museum (detailing a prominent early local family) round out the city’s real cultural offerings.
Notes: Genuine, extensively documented and locally cherished heritage – one of Texas’s most famous “roadside curiosity” landmarks.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Wichita Appraisal District – PO Box 5172, Wichita Falls, TX 76307 | 600 Scott Ave, 3rd Floor, Wichita Falls, TX 76301 | wadtx.com
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: City of Wichita Falls Animal Services – Hours: Monday-Friday 11 AM-6 PM, Saturday 10 AM-2 PM; after-hours emergency-only via Animal Control Hotline, (940) 761-7824.
Independent nonprofits: Multiple local rescue and welfare organizations serve the area, including JJ Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue (a state-licensed wildlife rescue operating within Wichita County) and several foster-based dog/cat rescues.
Notes: A real, functioning city animal services division with an active after-hours emergency line.
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 Wichita Falls.
NOTES: Wichita County is the fifth county in this batch (Washington, Webb, Wharton, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Willacy). The genuine “World’s Littlest Skyscraper” swindle and the award-winning “No Veteran Left Behind” veterans program 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 Wichita County
Wichita County is North Texas’s Red River regional hub and the 468th most populous in the United States, covering 628 square miles along the Red River border with Oklahoma.
Wichita Falls (the county seat, population ~102,000) is North Texas’s largest city north of the DFW Metroplex – a regional hub for oil and gas, military, education, and healthcare serving a wide rural hinterland. The city is known for having a fabricated waterfall – the original Wichita Falls (a modest 5-foot waterfall on the Wichita River) was washed away in an 1886 flood, and the city went without its namesake feature for nearly a century until a 54-foot artificial waterfall was constructed along the river in 1987 as a tourist attraction.
Sheppard Air Force Base – one of the largest Air Force training bases in the world – is the home of Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT), the only multinational pilot training program in NATO, training pilots from over a dozen NATO member nations alongside US Air Force students. Sheppard is Wichita County’s largest employer and a significant economic and demographic anchor.
Midwestern State University (MSU Texas, enrollment ~5,000) provides the county’s primary academic institution.
Burkburnett (population ~11,000) is a smaller community north of Wichita Falls with significant oil heritage – the Burkburnett oil field discovery in 1912 was one of Texas’s earliest major strikes and inspired a 1940 film with Clark Gable.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
The Wichita County Appraisal District (WCAD) at 600 Scott Avenue, Wichita Falls, TX 76301, phone 940-322-2435, appraises all property at 100% of market value.
The protest process: File by May 15 (or 30 days after notice). Homestead exemption: Apply with WCAD. No TX estate or inheritance tax.
OWNWELL CTA: WCAD protest deadline: May 15. Sheppard AFB military community provides stable demand base. No TX estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the protest with no upfront cost.
Recommended
WCAD protest deadline: May 15. Sheppard AFB military community provides stable demand base. No TX estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the protest with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
District Court (Probate): Wichita County’s District Courts (30th, 78th, 89th, 319th) at 900 7th Street, Wichita Falls, TX 76301, phone 940-766-8100, handle probate and all civil and criminal matters.
County Clerk: The Wichita County Clerk at 900 7th Street maintains deed records and marriage licenses. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The Wichita Falls Senior Center and Texoma Area Paratransit System serve the county’s senior population. United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls provides significant healthcare.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across Wichita County - from Wichita Falls and Burkburnett to Iowa Park and the Red River communities.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
900 7th St, Wichita Falls, TX 76301
(940) 766-8195
DISTRICT CLERK
900 7th St, Wichita Falls, TX 76301
(940) 766-8113
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Wichita County Clerk’s Office, Wichita Falls (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Wichita 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, Wichita County 900 7th Street, Room 250, Wichita Falls, TX 76301 (940) 766-8100 Wichita County is in North Texas, seated in Wichita Falls.
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, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Wichita 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 Wichita 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 Wichita 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
605 Scott Ave, Wichita Falls, TX 76301
(940) 766-8170
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
600 Scott Ave, Wichita Falls, TX 76301
(940) 766-8195
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health District
1700 3rd St, Wichita Falls, TX 76301
(940) 761-7800
HHSC Office
4309 Jacksboro Hwy, Wichita Falls, TX 76302
(940) 761-6800
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District – offers WIC services among other programs; confirm current contact via livewellwichitacounty.com.
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