With West Plains as the county seat,
Willow Springs and Mountain View are the county's other two major cities.
Howell County Townships
Benton, Brandsville City, Chapel, Dry Creek, Goldsberry, Hutton Valley, Mountain View City, Myatt, Siloam Springs, Sisson, South Fork, Spring Creek, West Plains City, Willow Springs City, Willow Springs
Howell County Courthouse
Court Square, West Plains, MO 65775
417-256-2591
The Howell County Courthouse is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Please note that the courthouse was destroyed during the Civil War.
County Clerk
- Dennis K. VonAllmen
Howell County Courthouse, Room 001, West Plains, MO 65775
Phone: 417-256-2591
Death Records
1883 -1893
Birth Records
1883 - 1893
Recorder
of Deeds - Fern Freeman Welker
Howell County Courthouse, P.O. Box 1011, West Plains, MO 65885
Phone: 417-256-3750
Marriage Records
Marriage Records back to about 1868
Marriage Records on computer back to 1991
Later records are on microfilm
Deeds
Records go back to about 1868
Divorce Records
Circuit Clerk
- Fern Freeman Welker
Howell County Courthouse, P.O. Box 1011, West Plains, MO 65885
Phone: 417-256-3741
Divorce Records
Records go back to about 1868
The West Plains Pubic Library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday; and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
204 East Main, West Plains, MO 65775
417-256-4775
The South Central Missouri Genealogical Society maintains a library of genealogical materials located on Court Square above West Plains Savings and Loan. The library is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon.
The society meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month (except December) in the Conference Room at the West Plains Bank.
Annual dues are $8 per person and $10 per couple and are payable January 1 each year. For more information write to the society in care of Mary Ellen Wheeler at 1043 West Fifth Street, West Plains, MO 65775.
A newsletter is published quarterly and a "Family Tree" column is published in the West Plains Daily Quill.
The society offers several publications for sale:
Howell County Cemetery Book
$32.50
Marriage Records 1867-1889
$11.00
Marriage Records 1889-1893 (Books 3 & 4)
$6.85
Marriage Records 1893-1897 (Book 5)
$6.85
Marriage Records 1897-1900 (Book 6)
$6.85
Marriage Records 1900-1903 (Book 7)
$6.85
Howell County Naturalization Records
$3.75
1870 List of Legal Voters
$3.75
Land Register of Howell County for Assessment of 1867 Tax
$6.85
1880 Land Tax Book of Howell County
$9.50
1890 Land Tax Records of Howell County
$19.50
1900 Personal Tax List
$6.85
1910 Personal Tax List
$6.85
1880 Howell County Census
$19.50
Probate Court Loose Papers of Howell County
$12.50
Plats - First Land Owners of Howell County
$18.00
Marriage Records by Judges of the Probate Court 1920-1942
$6.85
Marriages Solemnized by Rev. Boles 1919-1931
Marriages, Births, Deaths, News from 1925 from the West Plains Daily Quill
$18.00
Howell County Births 1883-1893
$11.00
Abstract of Death Records 1883-1893
$7.85
Index - Ancestors of Members of the South Central Missouri Genealogical Society
$6.85
Index to Patent Books I-II, Howell County 1853-1908
$6.85
Collection of Rural School Records 1884-1936 (16 Schools)
$10.35
For more information contact:
Mary Ellen Wheeler
1043 West Fifth Street, West Plains, MO 65775
417-256-3966
Christy and Roe Streets, West Plains, MO 65775
417-256-7776
The Local Family History Library in West Plains is open from 9:30 a.m.. to 4:30 p.m. each Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The West Plains LDS FHL program director is Kay Xidis.
The West Plains Family History Library in West Plains is a great source for family history information worldwide.
The International Genealogical Index (IGI) is available on computer and on miscrofiche and contains millions of names from the United States and foreign countries.
Ancestral Files are available on computer and contain submitted family pedigrees with name of the files having the name of the submitter.
While microfilm is not archived at the local West Plains LDS FHL, they re rented by request from the FHL in Salt Lake City. Short term rentals are $3.25 and may be kept at the local branch for two months. Longer term rental is available and is priced accordingly. Microfilms may not be removed from the library.
Films available for counties include census records, county records, books and articles written by individuals providing that person allowed the book to be microfilmed.
Other than fees for renting microfilm, there is no charge for using the resources available at the local LDS FHL. The library is staffed by helpful, courteous volunteers from the church membership.
The West Plains facility has three microfilm readers, one computer, five microfiche readers and a microfilm/microfiche copier.