West Texas / Permian / Trans-Pecos
Winkler County, Texas
A local guide to the county: the stories that give it a shape, practical checks, and a few things worth knowing before they surprise you. Every note points to its source.
4 stories · 3 practical · 1 good to know
The practical part
Winkler County offices and deadlines
Appraisal district & tax office →
The Comptroller's official directory for Winkler County: who sets your value and who sends the bill.
Homestead exemption →
File Form 50-114 with the appraisal district. It is free. The regular deadline is April 30, and late filing is allowed for up to two years.
Protest your appraisal →
The usual deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice arrives, whichever is later.
Estimate a tax bill →
Model a bill from local rates, the homestead exemption, and the appraisal cap.
Start here
A little of what makes this place itself
Monahans Sandhills State Park · Sand Dunes
A state park crosses into Winkler County
Monahans Sandhills State Park spans Ward and Winkler counties, with 4,717 acres of dunes and no marked trails across the sand.
Blue Mountain · Landmark
Blue Mountain is Winkler County's high edge
Winkler County's 3,400-foot high point is an escarpment of the Llano Estacado, with rock shelters that preserve signs of long use.
The Sand Hills · Sandhills
The Sand Hills marker remembers a travel barrier
A 1967 marker northeast of Kermit records a 100-mile sand belt, dunes taller than 70 feet, shallow water, and difficult travel.
All 8 local notes
The full county shelf is mixed so stories and useful checks travel together. Use the filters when you need one kind.
Showing all 8 notes.
- Stories & local character Outdoors A state park crosses into Winkler County Monahans Sandhills State Park spans Ward and Winkler counties, with 4,717 acres of dunes and no marked trails across the sand. Monahans Sandhills State Park
- Practical Home & Property Surface and Mineral Rights Are Often Owned Separately Here In Winkler County's oil country, the person who owns the land surface may not own the oil and gas underneath it, and Texas law gives mineral owners the upper hand.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Blue Mountain is Winkler County's high edge Winkler County's 3,400-foot high point is an escarpment of the Llano Estacado, with rock shelters that preserve signs of long use. Blue Mountain
- Practical Money & Taxes Two Offices Handle Your Property Taxes in Winkler County In Winkler County, the value side and the collection side of property tax are separate, even though both offices are in Kermit.
- Good to know Home & Property Two Large Sinkholes Near Wink Are Still Growing Two giant sinkholes, Wink Sink 1 and Wink Sink 2, formed near Wink in 1980 and 2002, and researchers say the ground around them is still sinking.
- Stories & local character Outdoors The Sand Hills marker remembers a travel barrier A 1967 marker northeast of Kermit records a 100-mile sand belt, dunes taller than 70 feet, shallow water, and difficult travel. The Sand Hills
- Practical Home & Property Winkler County Has No Groundwater Conservation District Unlike many Texas counties, Winkler County is not inside a groundwater conservation district, so there is no local agency overseeing well permits or pumping limits.
- Stories & local character History & Culture One Oil Well in 1926 Changed Everything in Winkler County Before oil was discovered on July 16, 1926, Winkler County was nearly empty; after it, the region became one of Texas's leading petroleum producers.
Nearby counties