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Pennsylvania · Allegheny Mountains · #423
Blair County, Pennsylvania
In the Allegheny Mountains of central Pennsylvania, Blair County's Altoona was the engineering marvel of the Pennsylvania Railroad era - the city built to conquer the Allegheny Front, and the Horseshoe Curve that made it possible is still watched by train enthusiasts from across the country.
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Office: Blair County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) – Hollidaysburg, PA | (814) 940-5901
Services: Coordinates governmental and volunteer emergency service organizations and facilities during disaster situations, supplementing Commonwealth disaster operations and recovery plans; provides emergency preparedness planning assistance to businesses and organizations
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-99, US-220, and US-22 serve the Altoona/Hollidaysburg area, with Hollidaysburg as county seat
Transit: Altoona Metro Transit (AMTRAN) provides bus and paratransit service throughout Blair County, including Altoona, Hollidaysburg, and a Penn State Altoona shuttle – 13 routes, roughly 492,500 annual riders (2025).
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Blair County Code Enforcement Office – Hollidaysburg, PA
Services: Building and zoning permit compliance for unincorporated areas of the county
Notes: Individual municipalities issue their own permits – e.g., Hollidaysburg Permits, 1620 North Juniata Street, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648, (814) 696-7261; Altoona has its own separate permitting office as well – confirm the correct jurisdiction for your property.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Blair County Veterans Affairs Office – Hollidaysburg, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Blair County Library System – an 8-library federated system; library cards are valid at any member library
Main Branch: Altoona Area Public Library – 1600 5th Avenue, Altoona, PA 16602 | (814) 946-0417 | Fax: (814) 946-3230
Related: Bellwood-Antis Public Library – 526 Main Street, Bellwood, PA 16617, (814) 742-8234; Hollidaysburg branch – 1 Furnace Rd, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648, (814) 695-5961; Claysburg, Martinsburg, Roaring Spring, Tyrone-Snyder, and Williamsburg branches also serve the county.
Services: A federated system providing consistent library services across all eight service outlets countywide.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Blair County is genuinely home to the HORSESHOE CURVE, a National Historic Landmark widely regarded as one of the greatest feats of railroad engineering in American history; designed by Pennsylvania Railroad chief engineer (and later company president) John Edgar Thomson, the roughly 2,375-foot-long, 1,300-foot-diameter curve was carved into the Allegheny Mountains between 1851 and 1854, opening on February 15, 1854; the curve’s gentle 1.8-percent grade eliminated the need for the earlier Allegheny Portage Railroad’s cumbersome system of 10 separate inclined planes, allowing the Pennsylvania Railroad to run trains directly between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in about 13 hours, down from roughly 3.5 days on the old combined canal-and-incline route – a transformative leap for east-west trade across the mountains; a small trackside park built in 1880 at the center of the curve made it one of the earliest dedicated train-watching sites in America, and the double track was expanded to three lines by 1899 and four by 1900; in 1957, a retired Altoona-built K4-class steam locomotive (PRR No. 1361) was placed on permanent display at the site to commemorate the age of steam; the Horseshoe Curve was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and further recognized as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2003-2004; more than 150 years after construction, Thomson’s original alignment has never been improved upon, and today more than 50 trains a day still travel the route, now operated by Norfolk Southern; the site is managed by Altoona’s Railroaders Memorial Museum, whose $5.8 million visitor center (opened 1992) includes a funicular tram carrying visitors up to trackside viewing
Notes: The Horseshoe Curve’s genuine, extensively documented status as a landmark of American railroad engineering – still in daily active use over 170 years later – is one of the most significant infrastructure heritage sites found in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Blair County GIS – accessible via blairco.org
Parcel Search: Blair County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Blair County Emergency Management Agency
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Central Pennsylvania Humane Society (CPHS) – 1837 E Pleasant Valley Boulevard, Altoona, PA 16602 | Hours: Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun 12:30–4:30 PM, Fri 12:30–7 PM (closed Mon/Wed)
Services: Serves all of Blair County (Altoona, Hollidaysburg, Martinsburg, Williamsburg, Tyrone, Bellwood, and more); offers a low-cost spay/neuter program, educational programs in schools, and adoption services requiring a submitted application before any meet-and-greet, with adoption counselors matching animals to families rather than first-come-first-served; adopters must be 18+
Notes: Wildlife control/nuisance concerns should be directed to the appropriate PA Game Commission regional office rather than the Humane Society.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – dep.pa.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Blair County is genuinely home to the Horseshoe Curve, one of the greatest achievements of 19th-century American railroad engineering and still in daily active use today. 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 Blair County
Blair County exists because of a railroad problem. The Pennsylvania Railroad needed to cross the Allegheny Front – the dramatic eastern escarpment of the Allegheny Plateau – and the engineering solution, constructed between 1851 and 1854, was the Horseshoe Curve: a sweeping 220-degree arc of track that allowed trains to climb the mountain by gaining elevation gradually around the curve rather than attacking the grade directly. The Horseshoe Curve was so strategically important that German saboteurs targeted it during World War II (the FBI’s Operation Pastorius thwarted the plot). Today it is a National Historic Landmark and one of the most visited railroad attractions in the country – Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian route still uses the curve, and trains pass multiple times daily.
Altoona grew as the Pennsylvania Railroad’s main locomotive and car shops city, and at its peak employed tens of thousands in the manufacture and repair of railroad equipment. The railroad’s decline hit Altoona hard, and the city has navigated post-industrial transition since the 1960s. Penn State Altoona and UPMC Altoona anchor the current economy alongside regional retail. The Altoona Railroaders’ Museum and Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site preserve the railroad heritage that gives the county its most distinctive identity. Blair County’s terrain – the Bald Eagle Valley, the Juniata River drainage, the Blue Knob ski area – provides outdoor recreation assets that support a modest tourism economy alongside the heritage draw.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Pennsylvania counties assess at 100% of market value; Blair County’s last full reassessment was in 2007, with assessed values in many areas below current market. Property owners may appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals by August 1. Pennsylvania has no estate tax; Pennsylvania’s inheritance tax: 0% surviving spouses, 4.5% direct descendants, 12% siblings, 15% others. Gifts within one year of death are subject to inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Blair County Area Agency on Aging
1320 12th Avenue, Altoona, PA 16601
Phone: (814) 946-1235
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, APPRISE Medicare counseling, caregiver support, home modification, and long-term care options counseling for Blair County residents.
Senior Services
Blair County Area Agency on Aging
1320 12th Avenue, Altoona, PA 16601
Phone: (814) 946-1235
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, APPRISE Medicare counseling, caregiver support, home modification, and long-term care options counseling for Blair County residents.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Blair County Register of Wills, Hollidaysburg (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). Blair County was historically part of Bedford and Huntingdon counties.
Local societies
No dedicated Blair 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, Blair County Blair County Courthouse, 423 Allegheny Street, Suite 145, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 (814) 693-3095 Blair County is in central Pennsylvania, seated in Hollidaysburg.
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 Blair 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 Blair 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
423 Allegheny St, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
(814) 693-3115
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
423 Allegheny St, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
(814) 693-3013
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
423 Allegheny St, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
(814) 693-3059
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
1418 Eleventh Ave, Altoona, PA 16601
(814) 946-2011
Assistance Office (DHS)
1210 Eleventh Ave, Altoona, PA 16601
(814) 946-7300
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Blair County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Hollidaysburg, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hollidaysburg
Population: 121,000
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Blair County facilities via Amazon.
