The Willacy County Sheriff's office has the honor of serving the areas and cities of: Lyford, Raymondville, San Perlita, Lasara, Port Mansfield, Santa Monica and Sebastian perspectively.  

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Willacy County is a burgeoning and vast area - home to some of the most culturally rich citizens anywhere. The Willacy County Sheriff's Office is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and secure community. The partnership between our organization and you, the residents of Willacy County, is critical in the fight against crime.

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County History

Willacy County was formed in 1911 from parts of Cameron and Hidalgo counties and originally included what is now Kenedy County; it was named for state senator John G. Willacy. Kenedy was split from Willacy in 1921, when the long-settled ranchers of the northern (Kenedy) part of the county sought to separate from the newly arrived farmers of the southern part.

The Bermuda onion was introduced to Willacy County in 1912. It grew well and slowly displaced ranchland in the southern part of the county, becoming the most important crop. For many years the town of Raymondville held an annual Onion Festival, using the tag line, "The Breath of a Nation." In 1940, the first oil wells were sunk in the county's Willamar Oil Field; today oil production is a major part of the local economy, although increasingly eclipsed by natural gas. Also in the 1940s, sorghum was introduced to the county, gradually displacing cotton and other crops. Cattle ranching remains a substantial economic activity as well.

In the early 2010s, wind turbines began to be built in the rural part of the county east of U.S. Highway 77, a number expanded later in 2020. The turbines became an icon to the county's identity, with the turbines being visible from northern Cameron County and eastern Hidalgo County . Power line infrastructure was also improved in this period.

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 784 square miles (2,030 km2), of which 591 square miles (1,530 km2) is land and 194 square miles (500 km2) (25%) is water.