County Records

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The Dick Smith Library is one of twenty four depositories in the Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) program located throughout the state. The purpose of the RHRD program is to collect, preserve, and make available the historic records of local governments to the public. Most of the records have fulfilled their administrative, fiscal, and legal values and are permanent only because of their historical value. Without the RHRD program many of these records would not be publicly accessible if the local government still possessed them.

The Dick Smith Library holds records for the following counties: Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Shackelford and Stephens. The records are either microfilm or actual textual records. Records of Erath County can be found in both microfilm and textual format. Records may be used free of charge.

For more information on the county record holdings of the Dick Smith Library and how to use them, contact Phyllis Kinnison or Archives staff at [email protected].

Textual Records

The date ranges given are not all inclusive for all records; some records are available for some time periods but not others. The textual records may not be loaned or removed from the RHRD premises. Advance notice is require to use these materials, with time allowed to retrieve them. There may be occasions when staffing or weather conditions may prevent retrieval of the records. Further requirements for use of these documents are outlined here: Use of Textual County and City Records

Microfilm Records

The date ranges given are not all inclusive for all records; some records are available for some time periods but not others. Records on microfilm can be used any time the library is open; however, arrangements should be made in advance for use outside the hours of 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. The microfilms can also be sent to other libraries through interlibrary loan for in-library use only, following the state’s policies. You can also borrow microfilm for other counties for use in the Dick Smith Library or other libraries, via interlibrary loan.

Other Records for Our Depository Counties

Additional records for some of these counties have been placed online for use (with a free account) at FamilySearch.org. You can browse the images, but they have not been indexed and are not yet searchable.