In a nutshell
The majority of permanent records in Williamson County are paper based and are vulnerable to theft and wear and tear, according to county documents.
The county-approved plan will help restore old probate court records, some of which date back to the 1800s, County Clerk Nancy Rister said.
“You can barely even read them,” she said during commissioners court. “We've already done the 1800s, but this will cover us from the 1800s back into the 50s and 60s.”
The records will be preserved using archive fees and will not have a cost to the county, per county documents. Paper documents will be scanned while handwritten documents will be encapsulated—or sealed between sheets of protective film.
Additionally, images will be added to the county’s existing imaging system.
Why now?
Officials are running out of room to store physical records and the county clerk’s office will require a larger facility to house historical records soon, per county documents.
Eventually, several Williamson County services will relocate from downtown Georgetown to the future Williamson County Administration Building, which is set to open in early 2026, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
County Judge Bill Gravell said compared to current space, the new records room inside the future building is “massive."
“My concern is trying to get it all done before we move into the building, to make sure we've got the count on how many shelves we need,” Rister said.
With the additional space, the county will be able to display old records in the new building, Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said.
One more thing
A fee of up to $10 can be required when people record or file public documents in county clerk offices for the purpose of preserving, restoring and managing county records. However, this does not include court records.
The Commissioners Court will now be able to adopt a records archive fee as part of the county’s annual budget, per county documents. The records archive fee is subject to commissioners’ approval during the budget process, according to county documents.
The additional revenue will be used to preserve older records going forward.
“[Rister] has done a phenomenal job in preserving records and continues to do so,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said.
