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Pennsylvania County
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford Springs and Raystown Lake in the Allegheny Mountains - from Bedford Springs Resort (a National Historic Landmark where seven US presidents stayed, including James Buchanan who used it as a summer White House, and where the first transatlantic telegraph cable message was received in 1858) to Raystown Lake (the largest lake entirely within Pennsylvania at 8,300 acres, created by a 1973 Army Corps dam providing exceptional mountain recreation) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike's historic Bedford interchange serving travelers since 1940.
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Office: Bedford County Department of Emergency Services – Bedford, PA
Services: Combines the Office of Emergency Management (disaster response planning, crisis management, preparedness training) with the county’s Public Safety Answering Point (911 dispatch); a building permit is required before Bedford County E911 will assign a 911 address to a new residential dwelling or commercial building – vacant land is never assigned an address
Roads: US-30 (Lincoln Highway) and PA-56 serve Bedford, the county seat, in south-central Pennsylvania along the Allegheny Mountains
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Building permits are NOT issued by the Bedford County Planning Commission – obtain permits from the PA Municipal Code Alliance, 125 S. Richard Street, Suite 102, Bedford, PA 15522 | (814) 310-2326
Services: The county Planning Department (200 South Juliana Street, Bedford, PA 15522, (814) 623-4827) handles subdivision, land development, and sewage module reviews, agricultural conservation easements, and CDBG grant administration – but not building permits themselves
Notes: Individual townships (e.g., Bedford Township) separately regulate land development, signage, communication towers, and septic systems through their own ordinances – confirm the correct jurisdiction for your property.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Bedford County Veterans Affairs Office – Bedford, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Bedford County Library – main branch plus several independent community libraries countywide
Main Branch: Bedford County Library – 240 South Wood Street, Bedford, PA 15522 | (814) 623-5010 | Fax: (814) 623-2676 | Hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 8:30 AM–6 PM, Tue/Thu 8:30 AM–4 PM, Sat 8 AM–3 PM (closed Sun)
Services: Offers Ms. Becky’s weekly Story Time for preschoolers (Tue/Fri 10–10:30 AM during the school year), interlibrary loan, and e-reader support; part of the SPARK/Evergreen shared library catalog system
Related: Everett Free Library – 137 E. Main Street, Everett, PA 15537, (814) 652-5922; Hyndman-Londonderry Public Library – 161 Clarence St, Hyndman, PA 15545, (814) 842-3782; Saxton Community Library – 315 Front St, Saxton, PA 16678, (814) 212-6925.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Bedford County’s seat is genuinely the site of one of the most historically significant moments of George Washington’s presidency: in October 1794, Washington traveled to Bedford to personally review the roughly 13,000-strong federalized militia force he had assembled to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion, western Pennsylvania farmers’ violent armed resistance to a federal excise tax on distilled spirits; this made Washington the ONLY sitting U.S. president in American history to personally lead troops in the field; after crossing through Carlisle and reviewing troops there and at Fort Cumberland, Maryland, Washington arrived in Bedford on October 19, 1794, where roughly 3,000 Pennsylvania and New Jersey troops had massed, and the president rode at the head of the assembled army as it marched up the town’s main street; before departing Bedford to return to Philadelphia, Washington formally transferred command of the expedition to Virginia Governor Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, leaving written instructions to bring the rebels to justice while aiding civil authorities; the show of overwhelming federal force effectively ended the rebellion without significant bloodshed, with many rebels fleeing the region before the army’s arrival, and stands as an early defining test of the new federal government’s authority to enforce its laws
Notes: Bedford County’s genuine, extensively documented status as the site of Washington’s historic troop review during the Whiskey Rebellion – the only time a sitting president personally commanded an army in the field – is one of the most significant pieces of early federal history found in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Bedford County GIS – accessible via bedfordcountypa.org
Parcel Search: Bedford County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Bedford County E-911
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Bedford County Humane Society – 182 Bohn Road, Bedford, PA 15522 | (814) 623-8968 | Hours: Daily 1–5 PM (excluding holidays)
Services: A nonprofit, no-kill, extended-care animal welfare organization dedicated to preventing cruelty to all animals; adoption process includes an application with references, with both references and applicants interviewed before placement; promotes spay/neuter to reduce pet overpopulation and offers humane education programming to youth and the general public
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – dep.pa.gov
Notes: Contact Bedford County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Bedford County is genuinely the site where President George Washington personally reviewed federal troops during the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion – the only time a sitting U.S. president has personally led an army in the field. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Bedford County
Bedford County is south-central Pennsylvania’s mountain resort and recreation county whose mineral springs tradition, massive reservoir, and Turnpike heritage define a tourism-oriented Allegheny Mountain community.
Bedford (the county seat, population ~2,800) preserves remarkable colonial and Federal-period architecture – over 100 buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries fill the historic district. Bedford Springs Resort, opened 1796, hosted presidents from James Madison through James Buchanan.
Raystown Lake offers 101 miles of shoreline, exceptional bass and musky fishing, and seven Army Corps campgrounds in a remote mountain setting.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Bedford County Assessment Office at 200 S. Juliana Street, Bedford, PA 15522, phone 814-623-4842. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Bedford County Register of Wills at 200 S. Juliana Street, Bedford, PA 15522, phone 814-623-4836, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Bedford County Register of Wills, Bedford (probate/estate records dating back to 1771 – see Probate section above). Bedford County’s records also historically served as the source county for Huntingdon, Somerset, Centre, Cambria, Blair, and Fulton counties before those counties were formed.
Local societies
No dedicated Bedford 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
Register of Wills, Bedford County Bedford County Courthouse, 200 South Juliana Street, Bedford, PA 15522 (814) 623-4833
Bedford County is in south-central Pennsylvania, seated in Bedford. The Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds office holds records dating back to 1771.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Pennsylvania has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Probate runs through its own statute, the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries (PEF) Code, Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Probate begins at the Register of Wills – an elected county official – in the county where the decedent lived. Routine, uncontested probate happens entirely at the Register of Wills; only disputes escalate to the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas.
Small Estate Petition (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) – available when the estate’s personal property (excluding real estate) totals $50,000 or less. This lets an interested party petition the Orphans’ Court directly for approval of a proposed distribution, skipping the need to formally open a full probate estate. Real property is never covered by this simplified process.
Formal Probate – required for estates exceeding $50,000 in personal property, or for any estate involving real property that needs to pass through probate. The Register of Wills validates the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative files with the Register of Wills in Bedford County, along with the original will if one exists.
The Register of Wills reviews and, if in order, issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative gathers assets, notifies heirs and known creditors, and begins settling the estate.
Pennsylvania has a one-year creditor period running from the date of death, not from any published notice.
A Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return (REV-1500) must be filed with the Register of Wills, regardless of estate size.
Once debts, taxes, and expenses are settled, remaining assets are distributed according to the will or Pennsylvania’s intestacy laws, and the estate is closed.
What it costs
Filing fees vary; check with Bedford County directly for current fees.
Pennsylvania has NO separate state estate tax, but its INHERITANCE TAX applies to virtually every estate: 0% to a surviving spouse (and to a parent inheriting from a child 21 or younger), 4.5% to children and other lineal descendants, 12% to siblings, and 15% to everyone else. No dollar exemption.
A 5% early-payment discount applies if paid within 3 months of death; the return and payment are otherwise due within 9 months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTER OF WILLS
200 South Juliana St, Bedford, PA 15522
(814) 623-4842
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
200 South Juliana St, Bedford, PA 15522
(814) 623-4801
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
200 South Juliana St, Bedford, PA 15522
(814) 623-4807
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
202 South Juliana St, Bedford, PA 15522
(814) 623-4801
Assistance Office (DHS)
5378 Business 220, Bedford, PA 15522
(814) 623-6115
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Bedford County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Bedford, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Bedford
Population: 47,000
Established: 1771
Tier: 3
Public Records
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