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Indiana County
Perry County, Indiana
Tell City and Ohio River bluff country - from Tell City's Swiss heritage (the city was founded in 1858 by a Swiss colonization society and named for Swiss folk hero William Tell, a heritage still celebrated in the community's character and annual festivals) to Perry County's dramatic Ohio River bluff terrain (the county's southern edge runs along the Ohio River with limestone bluffs and forested hillsides that make Perry County one of southwest Indiana's most scenically distinctive counties, with Hoosier National Forest covering significant portions of the county's interior).
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Office: Perry County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center – 2211 Herrman Street, Tell City, IN. Confirm current phone via perrycounty.in.gov.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-64 crosses the county’s northern portion, the Ohio River Scenic Byway (SR-66) runs along the southern border, and SR-37 connects the two, serving Tell City, the county seat, on the Ohio River.
Notes: Perry County was founded November 1, 1814, before Indiana achieved statehood, named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. It is Indiana’s hilliest and one of its most forested counties, containing over 60,000 acres of Hoosier National Forest – more forest acreage than any other Indiana county. The county seat moved twice: originally Troy (Indiana’s second-oldest town, settled 1804 by Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland settlers), then Rome (1819-1859, whose courthouse was designed to resemble the Indiana capitol in Corydon), before finally settling in Tell City.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Perry County Courthouse – Tell City, IN.
Notes: Tell City has a genuinely distinctive origin story: in November 1856, a group of Swiss-German immigrants meeting in Cincinnati organized the “Swiss Colonization Society” to secure affordable homesteads for mechanics, shopkeepers, and small farmers where all could live in harmony. The Society purchased and platted the townsite in 1857-1858, naming it for the legendary Swiss folk hero William Tell – a statue of Tell and his son, based on a Richard Kissling statue in Altdorf, Switzerland, sits on a fountain outside city hall (dedicated 1974). Tell City still celebrates this heritage with the annual Schweizer Fest each August and an “Apple Drop” New Year’s Eve tradition tied to the William Tell legend. Nearby Cannelton is home to Myers Grade School (opened 1868 as Cannelton High School), believed to be the oldest continuously used school building in Indiana and possibly the entire country.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Perry County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via perrycounty.in.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Perry County Public Library (Tell City) – its Tell City branch, opened 1917, was funded partly by a 1916 Carnegie Corporation grant.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The William Tell statue and fountain, Hoosier National Forest (60,000+ acres), the Cannelton Locks and Dam on the Ohio River, and the annual Schweizer Fest are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine, still-celebrated Swiss heritage of Tell City – founded by a formal Swiss Colonization Society and named for William Tell – is among the most distinctive local cultural facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Perry County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via perrycounty.in.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Perry County Humane Society – confirm current contact via perrycounty.in.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Perry County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via perrycounty.in.gov.
NOTES: Perry County is the sixty-third county completed in Indiana’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, still-celebrated Swiss heritage of Tell City is among the most distinctive local cultural facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Perry County
Perry County is southwest Indiana’s Ohio River bluff and Swiss heritage county – Tell City’s founding story and the Hoosier National Forest’s forested hills define a county whose rugged terrain, river access, and small-town character distinguish it from Indiana’s agricultural flatlands.
Tell City (the county seat, population ~7,200) is Perry County’s governmental and commercial hub along the Ohio River, serving as the county’s largest city and a regional center for southwest Indiana near the Kentucky border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Perry County Assessor at 2219 Payne Street, Tell City, IN 47586, phone 812-547-3741. IN assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Perry County Circuit Court at 2219 Payne Street, Tell City, IN 47586, phone 812-547-3741, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
2219 Payne St., Tell City, IN 47586
(812) 547-3741
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
2219 Payne St., Tell City, IN 47586
(812) 547-3741
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Perry County Circuit Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The county’s Swiss immigrant heritage, centered on Tell City, is a distinctive local settlement-history topic.
Local societies
No dedicated Perry County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Perry County Circuit Court 2219 Payne Street, Tell City, IN 47586 (812) 547-7048
Perry County sits on the Ohio River in southern Indiana. Its seat, Tell City, was founded by Swiss immigrants and named for William Tell.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Indiana has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code – probate is governed by Indiana Code Title 29. Indiana offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where the gross probate estate (less liens, encumbrances, and funeral expenses) is $100,000 or less. Available 45 days after death. The affidavit must be signed and recorded with the county recorder’s office before a personal representative is appointed. No court filing is required.
Devolution of Real Estate Affidavit – a separate affidavit specifically for transferring real property, available 7 months after death, with no value limit on the real estate, recorded with the county recorder.
Unsupervised Administration – a simplified probate track available when the estate is solvent and all inheritors agree; fewer court appearances and filings than supervised administration.
Supervised Administration – full court oversight, used for contested, complex, or insolvent estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and for Issuance of Letters (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Appointment of Personal Representative (if intestate) with the Perry County Circuit Court.
The court reviews the will for compliance with Indiana Code § 29-1-5-3 (in writing, signed by the testator, witnessed by at least 2 credible witnesses).
The court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly 3 months from first publication) to file claims.
The personal representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes the estate.
File a closing statement or final accounting to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Indiana does not have a state estate or inheritance tax.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the Perry County Circuit Court.
Indiana has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval.
Typical timelines: Small Estate Affidavit – a minimum 45-day wait; Unsupervised Administration – roughly 6-9 months if uncontested; Supervised Administration – 9-12+ months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
2219 Payne St., Tell City, IN 47586
(812) 547-2441
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
2219 Payne St., Tell City, IN 47586
(812) 547-3741
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Perry County Health Dept
(812) 547-7077
IN FSSA — Southwest Region
(800) 403-0864
IN Medicaid
(800) 403-0864
Perry County Memorial Hospital
pcmhosp.com (Tell City — quality critical access hospital)
Deaconess Health System (Evansville)
deaconess.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Perry County Health Department – confirm current contact via perrycounty.in.gov.
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