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Texas County
Willacy County, Texas
Laguna Madre's birding corridor and lower Rio Grande Valley agriculture - from the Laguna Madre shoreline (Willacy County borders the Laguna Madre - one of the most ecologically significant hypersaline lagoons in the world, supporting extraordinary concentrations of shorebirds, sea turtles, and marine life in the shallow coastal waters between South Padre Island and the mainland) to Willacy County's intensive agricultural production (the fertile lower Rio Grande Valley soils produce onions, cotton, grain sorghum, and citrus on extensively irrigated farmland that represents some of the most productive cropland in Texas).
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Office: Willacy County Emergency Management Coordinator Frank Torres – 693 S. 7th Street, Raymondville, TX 78580 | (956) 689-5456 | Fax: (956) 689-6341
EMS: Willacy County EMS – 693 S 7th St, Raymondville, TX 78580; the lead emergency response agency for the county.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-77 serves Raymondville, the county seat, part of the Brownsville-Harlingen-Raymondville combined statistical area in the Rio Grande Valley
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Willacy County was created in 1911 (organized 1912) from parts of Cameron and Hidalgo counties, and originally included what is now Kenedy County. It’s named for state senator John G. Willacy.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Raymondville Building/Permits – confirm current contact via co.willacy.tx.us; for unincorporated Willacy County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: The former Willacy County Courthouse, 547 W. Hidalgo Avenue, Raymondville, is a historic three-story Classical Revival building that served as the county courthouse until February 2015 – a National Register of Historic Places listing since January 2017.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Willacy County Veterans Service Office – Frances L. Najera, VCSO | 190 N. 3rd St, Rm 157, Raymondville, TX 78580 | (956) 699-2800 | Fax: (956) 689-6641 | Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 AM-4 PM
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Resource: Texas Workforce Solutions Willacy County Office – 700 FM 3168, Ste. 3, Raymondville, TX 78580 | (956) 689-3412 | Fax: (956) 690-0285; also assists veterans with employment services.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Reber Memorial Library / Willacy County Library – 190 North 4th Street, Raymondville, TX 78580 | (956) 689-2930; Willacy County Courthouse contact also listed at (956) 689-3393.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
No major regional recreational attractions were confirmed in this search – a relatively quiet, agriculture-focused Rio Grande Valley county.
Notes: Willacy County is directly and significantly relevant to InmateAid’s audience: the Willacy County State Jail, 1695 South Buffalo Drive, Raymondville, is an operational TDCJ medium-security men’s facility (capacity 1,069, opened 1996). The county is also the site of two adjacent, historically significant federal detention facilities: the Willacy County Correctional Center, a large-scale immigration detention facility built in 2006 (capacity up to 3,117) that closed in March 2015 after a major inmate disturbance, and the Willacy County Regional Detention Center, opened 2003 (capacity 586), which held federal detainees under contract with the U.S. Marshals Service until its federal contract ended in April 2022 under Executive Order 14006. Given the volume of facility history here, anyone researching a specific inmate should confirm the exact current facility and custody status directly with TDCJ or the relevant federal agency, as several of these facilities have changed operators, closed, or reopened over the years.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Willacy County Appraisal District – Chief Appraiser Agustin Lopez | 688 FM 3168, Raymondville, TX 78580 | (956) 689-5979 | Fax: (956) 689-0585 | willacycad.org
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Raymondville Animal Holding Facility – receives stray animals from all cities within Willacy County and surrounding areas; animals are held for 3 days before being transferred/adopted or euthanized. For an animal pickup, contact County Judge’s office at (956) 689-3393, or for emergency animal situations, the Willacy County Sheriff’s Department at (956) 689-5576 – a constable is dispatched to trap or collect strays, which are then taken to the Weslaco Animal Shelter.
Notes: A real but limited-capacity animal holding system with only a short claim/adoption window – worth knowing if you have a lost pet in the area.
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 Raymondville.
NOTES: Willacy County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Washington, Webb, Wharton, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Willacy). This is a significant InmateAid-relevant county given its multiple past and present detention facilities – readers should verify current facility status directly, as the detention landscape here has changed substantially over the past two decades. 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 Willacy County
Willacy County is lower Rio Grande Valley’s Laguna Madre and coastal agricultural county – the extraordinary ecological richness of the hypersaline lagoon and the intensive farmland productivity define the southernmost reaches of Texas’s coastal plain.
Raymondville (the county seat, population ~9,000) serves the county’s agricultural communities and connects to the broader lower Rio Grande Valley metro economy centered on McAllen and Brownsville.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Willacy County Appraisal District at 192 N. 3rd Street, Raymondville, TX 78580, phone 956-689-3366. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Willacy County District Clerk at 576 W. Main Street, Suite 4, Raymondville, TX 78580, phone 956-689-2710, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
576 West Main St, Raymondville, TX 78580
(956) 689-2721
DISTRICT CLERK
576 West Main St, Raymondville, TX 78580
(956) 689-2721
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Willacy County Clerk’s Office, Raymondville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). Records available from 1921 to present.
The NRHP-listed Willacy County Courthouse (former, used until 2015) is a notable local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Willacy 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, Willacy County 576 West Main Street, Raymondville, TX 78580 (956) 689-2710
Willacy County was created in 1911, organized in 1912, named for John G. Willacy, in South Texas near the Gulf Coast, seated in Raymondville.
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 Willacy, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Willacy 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 Willacy 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 Willacy 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
576 West Main St, Raymondville, TX 78580
(956) 689-2331
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
576 West Main St, Raymondville, TX 78580
(956) 689-2721
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
576 West Main St, Raymondville, TX 78580
(956) 689-2721
HHSC Office
576 West Main St, Raymondville, TX 78580
(956) 689-2721
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: Raymondville
Population: 20,000
Established: 1921
Tier: 3
Public Records
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