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Pennsylvania County
Cameron County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's second-least populous county and the Sinnemahoning wilderness - from Emporium's courthouse serving fewer than 4,500 residents to the Sinnemahoning State Park's exceptional elk viewing and wild trout fishing on the First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek, the Bucktail State Park Natural Area's scenic Route 120 corridor (one of Pennsylvania's most beautiful drives, following Sinnemahoning Creek through a forested gorge), and a genuinely remote north-central Pennsylvania county where the Pennsylvania Wilds' elk, bear, and wild turkey populations outnumber residents.
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Office: Cameron County Emergency Management and 911 Services – Cameron County Courthouse, 20 E. 5th Street, Emporium, PA 15834 | 911 Coordinator/EM Director: (814) 486-9368 | EM Coordinator: (814) 486-9352
Services: Comprehensive mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery program; maintains the County Emergency Operations Plan and County Hazards Mitigation Plan; participates in the county Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the Northwest Central Emergency Response Group (NWC ERG), a regional partnership with Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, and McKean Counties
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-120 and PA-155 serve Emporium, the county seat, in the rugged “Pennsylvania Wilds” region
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cameron County Zoning Officer – Cameron County Courthouse, Emporium, PA | (814) 486-9356
Services: For unincorporated areas, permit applicants must first secure sewage/sewer approval, then county zoning and floodplain approval, before a Uniform Construction Code (UCC) building permit can be issued; Jones Township (in neighboring Elk County) administers the UCC building code for all seven of Cameron County’s municipalities, including the boroughs of Emporium and Driftwood – contact Building Code Official Russ Braun, Jones Township, PO Box 25, Wilcox, PA 15870
Notes: Projects located within the Borough of Emporium itself require SEPARATE zoning approval from the Borough, not the county – (814) 486-3617.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Cameron County Veterans Affairs Office – Emporium, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Barbara Moscato Brown Memorial Library – 27 W. 4th Street, Emporium, PA 15834 | (814) 486-8011 | Email: [email protected]
Services: A member of the Seneca Library District, serving as a vital educational and cultural resource for Cameron County; maintains a Pennsylvania History Area with local historical materials, including archived issues of the Cameron County Press (1964-1971) and Cameron County Echo (1964-present); offers the statewide “Chat with a Librarian” 24/7 live reference service; the library closes early during severe winter weather, with closure announcements broadcast on local radio station WLEM (1250 AM)
Notes: Genealogical research assistance is also available through the Cameron County Historical Society.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Cameron County – one of Pennsylvania’s smallest and least populous counties – holds a genuine and celebrated place in Pennsylvania Civil War history as the launch point of the famous BUCKTAIL REGIMENT; in April 1861, days after the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter, Philadelphia businessman Thomas Leiper Kane began recruiting companies of riflemen from the rugged “Wildcat district” counties of McKean, Elk, Tioga, and Cameron – hardy lumberjacks, raftsmen, and farmers accustomed to the mountainous terrain; the regiment’s enduring nickname originated when a recruit in Smethport, James Landregan, spotted a deer hide hanging outside a butcher shop, cut off the tail with his penknife, and pinned it to his cap as an impromptu symbol of marksmanship – Kane immediately approved of the gesture and declared his new unit would be known as the “Bucktails,” with the rest of the assembled recruits following suit; roughly 700 men, formed into seven companies, gathered at Driftwood in present-day Cameron County, where they built large log rafts and floated down the Sinnemahoning Creek to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River en route to Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, joining with other Pennsylvania volunteers to form what became the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment (also known as the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves or Kane’s Rifles); the Bucktails went on to fight in numerous major engagements, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg, and earned a reputation as one of the most decorated and celebrated volunteer regiments of the entire Civil War; the raft-building departure point at Driftwood remains a documented and commemorated site within Cameron County, and the regiment’s legacy is honored today through the Pennsylvania-dedicated Bucktail State Park Natural Area, which stretches along the Susquehanna’s West Branch from Lock Haven to the Cameron County line
Notes: The Bucktail Regiment’s genuine, extensively documented Civil War history – with its distinctive origin story and direct departure point in Cameron County – is one of Pennsylvania’s most celebrated pieces of Civil War heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Cameron County GIS – accessible via cameroncountypa.com
Parcel Search: Cameron County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Cameron County Emergency Management and 911 Services
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Cameron County SPCA – 678 South Mountain Road, Emporium, PA 15834 | (814) 486-0101 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: No set hours, by appointment only
Services: An all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to Cameron County’s people and pets, providing educational resources, an annual rabies clinic, and assistance reuniting lost animals with owners; offers dog licensing, spay/neuter, cat and dog adoption, animal surrender, fostering, and volunteer programs
Notes: Given the county’s small size and rural character, confirm current operating status and appointment availability directly before visiting, as some third-party listings show inconsistent activity.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – dep.pa.gov
Notes: Contact Cameron County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Cameron County is genuinely the launch point of the legendary Bucktail Regiment, one of Pennsylvania’s most celebrated Civil War units, whose recruits departed by raft from Driftwood in 1861. 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 Cameron County
Cameron County is Pennsylvania’s second-least populous county – a north-central Pennsylvania wilderness community of fewer than 4,500 residents in a forested landscape of the Allegheny Plateau.
Emporium (the county seat, population ~2,000) is the county’s only borough – a small lumber and railroad community that serves as the governmental and commercial center for a sparsely populated forested landscape.
The Sinnemahoning corridor – following Route 120 through the county – is one of Pennsylvania’s most scenic drives. The Bucktail State Park Natural Area follows Sinnemahoning Creek through a forested gorge, and Sinnemahoning State Park provides elk viewing, fishing, and camping.
Cameron County’s economy combines timber management, hunting and fishing tourism, and state forest employment.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Cameron County Assessment Office at 20 E. Fifth Street, Emporium, PA 15834, phone 814-486-9342. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Cameron County Register of Wills at 20 E. Fifth Street, Emporium, PA 15834, phone 814-486-2315, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cameron County Register of Wills, Emporium (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Cameron 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, Cameron County Cameron County Courthouse, 20 East 5th Street, Emporium, PA 15834 (814) 486-3349
Cameron County is in north-central Pennsylvania, seated in Emporium – one of Pennsylvania’s least populous counties.
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 Cameron 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 Cameron 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
20 East Fifth St, Emporium, PA 15834
(814) 486-3353
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
20 East Fifth St, Emporium, PA 15834
(814) 486-3384
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
20 East Fifth St, Emporium, PA 15834
(814) 486-3348
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
20 East Fifth St, Emporium, PA 15834
(814) 486-2126
Assistance Office (DHS)
100 East Fourth St, Emporium, PA 15834
(814) 486-3396
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Cameron County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Emporium, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Emporium
Population: 4,300
Established: 1860
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
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