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Ohio County
Perry County, Ohio
Perry County's coal heritage and Hocking Hills gateway - from New Lexington's courthouse in one of Ohio's original coal-producing counties (Perry County's Hocking coal seam was among the first commercially mined in Ohio, fueling Columbus industries and shaping the county's working-class identity) to the Sunday Creek watershed's coal-impacted landscape and recovery, and the county's position as the eastern gateway to the Hocking Hills recreation area that draws millions of visitors to adjacent Hocking County annually.
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Perry County Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security – 121 W. Brown Street, Suite E, New Lexington, OH 43764 | (740) 342-1141 | Fax: (740) 342-1685 | Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM-3:30 PM; Director Jessica Dodson-Pierce; LEPC meets second Tuesday of January, July, and September.
911: Perry County 911 – 121 W. Brown Street, New Lexington, OH 43764 | (740) 342-5517; became one of the first two Ohio counties (alongside Hardin) to fully implement Next Generation 911 (text-to-911, precise cell caller location) in October 2025.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-13, SR-37, and SR-93 serve New Lexington, the county seat, in southeastern Ohio
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: New Lexington became the county seat after a contested “county seat war” in the 1850s that took three new state laws, three elections, and two Ohio Supreme Court decisions before offices moved from Somerset in early 1857.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Perry County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via perrycountyohio.gov.
Notes: Perry County genuinely, remarkably contains the “World’s Greatest Mine Fire” – an underground coal seam fire that has been burning continuously beneath New Straitsville since October 11, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning coal cars into local mines during the nine-month Hocking Valley Coal Strike. By 1936 the fire had consumed coal across a 36-square-mile area; ground has collapsed under buildings and roads over the decades, mine gases have seeped into homes, and to this day steaming ground stays green and snow-free through winter. The Works Progress Administration attempted containment in 1938 using clay-and-brick barriers. The site drew nationwide attention in its early decades, including a Ripley’s Believe It or Not radio segment, and tourists once paid 25 cents to watch guides cook eggs over the fire’s heat vents. New Straitsville also hosts an annual Moonshine Festival on Memorial Day weekend. The Perry County Courthouse and Jail (built 1887, Richardsonian Romanesque, architect Joseph W. Yost) is NRHP-listed.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Perry County Veterans Service Commission – 128 S. Main Street, New Lexington, OH 43764 | (740) 342-2536; funded entirely by Perry County real estate taxes; Board meets last Monday of the month at 4 PM; provides free transportation to VA medical appointments, DD-214 assistance, and financial help for veterans facing unexpected hardship.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Perry County has multiple library systems – confirm current addresses/hours directly via perrycountyohio.gov given the county’s several independent library districts serving New Lexington, Somerset, New Straitsville, and Crooksville.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The “World’s Greatest Mine Fire” site (part of Wayne National Forest, Athens Ranger District) and Robinson’s Cave (an early labor-organizing meeting site used during the 1884-85 Hocking Valley Coal Strike) are the county’s most distinctive historic attractions.
Notes: The genuine, still-burning “World’s Greatest Mine Fire” – one of the longest-burning coal fires in recorded history – is one of the most unusual, checkable facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Perry County Auditor – confirm current phone via perrycountyohio.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Perry County Dog Warden – 1650 Commerce Drive, New Lexington, OH 43764 | (740) 342-3795 | Fax: (740) 342-9052; Chief Dog Warden Kerrie Taylor.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Perry County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via perrycountyohio.gov.
NOTES: Perry County is the first county in this batch (Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Portage, Preble, Putnam, Richland) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine, still-burning “World’s Greatest Mine Fire” – burning continuously since 1884 – is one of the most unusual, checkable 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 southeastern Ohio’s coal heritage county – an Appalachian hill community whose identity was shaped by underground coal mining and whose landscape bears the marks of that industrial history alongside natural recovery.
New Lexington (the county seat, population ~4,700) is the county’s commercial hub – a modest hill-country city whose coal-era downtown reflects 19th-century prosperity. The county’s position along US-33 makes it accessible from Columbus while maintaining a distinctly rural Appalachian character.
Perry County’s Hocking coal seam – mined continuously from the 1840s through the 20th century – powered Columbus industries and provided employment for generations of mining families. The Sunday Creek watershed’s abandoned mine drainage impacted water quality for decades, and ongoing remediation efforts have partially restored the creek’s ecology.
The county’s forested ridges, sandstone outcrops, and proximity to Hocking Hills State Park attract hunters, hikers, and ATV riders seeking Appalachian Ohio outdoor recreation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Perry County Auditor at 121 W. Brown Street, New Lexington, OH 43764, phone 740-342-2074. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Perry County Probate Court at 121 W. Brown Street, New Lexington, OH 43764, phone 740-342-1268, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
105 South Main St, New Lexington, OH 43764
(740) 342-2011
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Perry County Probate Court, New Lexington (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1887 Perry County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
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 Probate Court 105 North Main Street, New Lexington, OH 43764 (740) 342-1493
Perry County was established in 1817, in southeastern Ohio, seated in New Lexington. The 1887 Perry County Courthouse, Richardsonian Romanesque in style – the fifth courthouse to serve the county after a county seat war – is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Ohio has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, but has incorporated some streamlined concepts into its own system under Title 21 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC Chapters 2101-2131).
Summary Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – available for very small estates valued at $5,000 or less. Lets the court release assets quickly, often to cover funeral expenses and support the surviving family, without a fiduciary being appointed.
Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – Ohio’s broader small-estate shortcut. Available when the gross probate estate is $35,000 or less, OR up to $100,000 if the entire estate passes to a surviving spouse (by will or by Ohio’s intestacy law). No executor/administrator is appointed; the court releases the estate directly to the person(s) entitled to it.
Full Estate Administration – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds or the situation is otherwise contested or complex. The court appoints a fiduciary (Ohio’s term for executor/administrator), issues a Certificate of Appointment once any will is admitted, and the fiduciary inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays debts, and distributes what remains under ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and an application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent resided.
If pursuing Release from Administration or Summary Release, complete the applicable court forms (Form 5.0 for standard Release, Form 5.10 for Summary Release) along with a complete asset inventory and supporting documents.
For full administration, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary publishes notice to creditors; claims generally must be presented within 6 months of the date of death.
The fiduciary inventories and manages estate assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or Ohio’s intestacy law, reporting to the court along the way.
The estate is closed once a final account is filed and approved by the court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county – check with Perry County directly for current fees.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax (repealed effective January 1, 2013). Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates ($15,000,000 per individual as of 2026).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
105 South Main St, New Lexington, OH 43764
(740) 342-2011
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
2884 Panther Dr, New Lexington, OH 43764
(740) 342-2244
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
121 East Brown St, New Lexington, OH 43764
(740) 342-1801
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
2879 Panther Dr, New Lexington, OH 43764
(740) 342-5179
Job and Family Services
2879 Panther Dr, New Lexington, OH 43764
(740) 342-2650
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Perry County Health Department – 2235 OH-13, New Lexington, OH 43764 | (740) 342-5179 | Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM-4 PM.
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