County Records 

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The finding aids are arranged in alphabetical order by office of creation. If there is a completed finding aid for the office, the link occurs at the office name. Many offices do not have finding aids.  A complete list of county offices and departments with records in the Harris County Archives here.  Please contact the archivists with questions about the records.

Harris County Judge (CR31)

Robert (Bob) Randolph Casey (1945 - 1958)
Subject Files (1945 - 1959) and Tuberculosis Case Files (1956 – 1958) document the activities and responsibilities of Harris County Judge Robert (Bob) Casey. The records include minutes, reports, correspondence, memorandums, printed materials, manuals, budgets, maps, building plans, newspaper clippings, and photographs. During his administration Casey was involved in the construction of the Washburn Tunnel, Harris County Psychiatric Ward, Juvenile Detention Ward, and the Harris County Criminal Courthouse and Jail building.


William M. (Bill) Elliott (1959 - 1974)
Subject Files (1930 - 1976) document the activities and responsibilities of Harris County Judge William M. (Bill) Elliott. The records include minutes, reports, correspondence, memorandums, telegrams, printed materials, manuals, budgets, maps, building plans, newspaper clippings, poll lists, election returns, and photographs. Important issues during his term in office included building the Harris County Domed Stadium (Astrodome), establishment of the Harris County Hospital District, and obtaining Addicks Reservoir Dam and surrounding land from the Army Corps of Engineers for a county park.
 

Jon Lindsay (1975 - 1994)
Subject Files (1961-1992) and 5 Photo Albums (1989 – 1991) document the events in Harris County and the responsibilities of Jon Lindsay during his term in office as Harris County Judge (1975 – 1994). The subject files may contain minutes, correspondence, memorandums, reports, printed materials, financial records, maps, and plans. Four photo albums document the demolition of buildings on Buffalo Bayou and the construction of jails for Harris County. A single album documents the final demolition of the historic Pillot Building on the corner of Fannin and Congress and the construction of a replica on the same site.
 

Robert A. Eckels (1995 - 2007)
Subject Files (1993-2005) and 6 VHS tapes document the responsibilities of Harris County Judge Robert Eckels.   The records include minutes, reports, correspondence, memorandums, printed materials, manuals, budgets, maps, building plans, newspaper clippings, photographs, and VHS Tapes. This collection has been minimally processed.  See also MC024 for his Audio-Visual Collection.
 

 

Ryan White Planning Council Records (1993 - 2014)

  • Reports, grant applications, membership lists and photographs, and printed materials document the functions and activities of the Ryan White Planning Council 1993 – 2014.  Of particular interest are the statistical and narrative reports discussing the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on those infected with the virus and those family members and loved ones affected by it. The membership records include photographs and brief biographies of members of the council and document the activities of the individuals on the council.

Harris County Justice of the Peace Courts

Harris County Juvenile Probation (CR43)

  • Case files, correspondence, financial and legal records, scrapbooks, memoranda, newspaper clippings, printed materials, photographs, grant applications, and research analyses (1913 – 1989) document the development and growth of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (HCJPD). The collection is divided into three record groups: Administrative Records, Case Files and Children’s Homes. Some records are confidential. Access information begins on page 115 of the Finding Aid.
     
  • Ethel Claxton Scrapbooks (1914 - 1939)
    Newspaper clippings, invitations, programs, awards, wedding and birth announcements in two scrapbooks (1914 – 1939) created by Ethel A. Claxton, long-time superintendent of the Harris County Training School for Girls (later Mary Burnett Home), reveal the growth of the school, activities of its residents, community support, and Claxton’s relationship with the girls. The scrapbooks have been digitized and are available through the Harris County Digital Archives hosted by the Harris County Public Library. Due to the fragility of the scrapbooks, all primary reference with the scrapbooks needs to be done online. No blank pages were digitized. Only selected announcements, programs, invitations, and greeting cards have been completely scanned. Some high resolution scans are available. Dates are approximate.
  • Harris County Old Folks Home Scrapbook (1922 – 1955, Bulk 1922 – 1929)
    After its discovery in an attic, the Heritage Society donated the Old Folks Home Scrapbook to the Harris County Archives. The scrapbook was likely created by either by Superintendent T. W. Harral or his assistant and sister-in-law, Edith Dunham. This extremely fragile record of the opening and first decade of the operation of the Old Folks home on Crosby Road contains newspaper articles, programs, cards, correspondence, and photographs. Of particular interest are the newspaper images and photographs of the home and its residents. The entire scrapbook has been scanned. Clippings and photographs were often filed between pages and have been scanned in order. The scrapbook is available through the Harris County Digital Archives hosted by the Harris County Public Library.
  • Index to Images

Harris County Law Library (CR71)

  • For over 100 years the Harris County Law Library has served the legal community and the public.  Correspondence, minutes, financial records, printed materials, inventories, photographs, and artifacts document the evolution of the Law Library 1914 – 2002.   

Harris County Public Library (CR57)

  • Reports, financial records, correspondence, subject files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, audio / visual materials, and original artwork (1920 – 2013) document the founding, growth, administration, and functions of the Harris County Public Library. Of special interest are the Annual Reports (1922-1944) that record the early functions of the library, the formation of branch libraries, the bookmobile, and the populations they served. Of equal interest are the Scrapbooks, Photographs, and Correspondence that document the history of branch libraries, the librarians, library constituents, and the beloved bookmobile.

Harris County Records Management (CR04)

  • Katrina Message Boards, 2005. Forty-five message boards created by evacuees from New Orleans in the Houston Astrodome document the search for displaced persons after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of the city.

Harris County Social Services (CR08)

  • Administrative records, WPA Applications, Client Case Files, Burial Records, and Harris County Cemetery logs and a plats (1924 – 1987) document the functions of the social welfare agencies prior to and after the creation of the Harris County Social Services Department.

Harris County Toll Road Authority (CR05)

  • Patron and general correspondence, patron communications, press releases, reports, publications, membership directories, and 1 VHS tape (1986-2003) document the administrative functions of the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

Medical Examiners Office - Institute of Forensic Science (2010) (CR41)

  • Reports, log books, newspaper clippings, photographs, and autopsies (1954 – 2013) document the transition from the Office of the Justice of the Peace to a professional Medical Examiner’s Office in Harris County for investigating deaths and conducting inquests. The collection is divided into eight series: Administrative Records, Administrative Logs, Offense Reports, Case File Clippings, Administrative Photographs, Inquests and Views, Autopsy Case Files, and Autopsy Photographs