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Pennsylvania County
Clarion County, Pennsylvania
The Clarion River's Wild and Scenic corridor and Cook Forest's ancient hemlocks - from the Clarion River (designated a National Wild and Scenic River, flowing through the county in a forested gorge of exceptional beauty) to Cook Forest State Park's Cathedral Area (a stand of white pine and hemlock old growth - the tallest trees in the eastern United States, with individual trees reaching 180 feet, designated a National Natural Landmark) and Clarion University of Pennsylvania anchoring the county seat.
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Office: Clarion County Department of Public Safety – 160 Amsler Ave., Shippenville, PA 16254 | (814) 226-6631 | Fax: (814) 226-4294
Services: Serves the dual role of county 911 Center and Emergency Management Agency, providing training, education, communications, preparedness, and disaster response/recovery management
Notable: Clarion County 9-1-1, established April 17, 1973, was genuinely the VERY FIRST 9-1-1 center to open in the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; it operated for decades from a facility behind the county courthouse (the former Clarion County Jail) before relocating in May 2022 to a fully renovated facility in Shippenville with new phone systems, CAD dispatch technology, and dispatcher training space; the center runs 24/7/365 on 12-hour shifts, with each dispatcher completing 790 hours of training to meet state certification.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-80 and US-322 serve Clarion, the county seat, along the Clarion River in northwestern Pennsylvania
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clarion County Planning Department – accessible via co.clarion.pa.us
Services: Administers the county Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (including airport zoning and stormwater management)
Notes: Building permits themselves are generally issued at the MUNICIPAL level (boroughs and townships) – confirm the correct jurisdiction for your specific property.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Clarion County Veterans Affairs Office – Clarion, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Clarion County libraries are independently operated rather than a single unified county system
Main Branch: Clarion Free Library – Clarion, PA
Related: Redbank Valley Public Library – 720 Broad Street, New Bethlehem, PA 16242, (814) 275-2870; Eccles-Lesher Memorial Library – 673 Main Street, Rimersburg, PA 16248, (814) 473-3800, Sat hours 10 AM–5 PM.
Services: Standard public library services including online catalog access.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Clarion County is genuinely home to a substantial portion of COOK FOREST STATE PARK, one of the most significant remaining stands of old-growth forest in the entire eastern United States and Pennsylvania’s first state park created specifically to preserve a natural area; the roughly 8,500-acre park’s centerpiece, the “Forest Cathedral,” is a National Natural Landmark (designated 1967) preserving towering white pines and eastern hemlocks, some over 300-450 years old and among the tallest of their species anywhere in the Northeast – many exceed three feet in diameter, with the tallest pines approaching 180 feet; before European settlement, the area served as hunting grounds for the Seneca Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy; John Cook became the area’s first permanent American settler in 1826, working as a canal surveyor along the Clarion River, and though his family’s timber operations logged extensively elsewhere on their land, three generations of the Cook family – John, his son Anthony, and grandson Anthony Wayne Cook – deliberately preserved the old-growth stand as they found it; Anthony Wayne Cook went on to lead a 17-year national campaign that culminated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchasing more than 6,000 acres in 1927, creating Cook Forest State Park the following year; a 13-mile stretch of the federally designated Wild and Scenic Clarion River flows through the park, popular for canoeing, kayaking, and tubing, and a Civilian Conservation Corps-built historic district (1933-1935), including an 87.5-foot fire tower (1929), is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Notes: Cook Forest State Park’s genuine, extensively documented status as one of the last remaining old-growth forest tracts east of the Rocky Mountains – preserved through three generations of one family’s conservation ethic – is a nationally significant natural landmark.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Clarion County GIS – accessible via co.clarion.pa.us
Parcel Search: Clarion County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Clarion County Department of Public Safety
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Clarion County Humane Society (branch of PSPCA) – RR 322, Shippenville, PA
Services: A humane society branch of the Pennsylvania SPCA, handling animal cruelty concerns and general shelter services for the county
Related: Clarion PAWS – a no-kill feline-only adoption center located just outside Clarion, PA, run entirely by community volunteers, promoting humane care through education and community programs; the county government also maintains an “Adopt a Pet” resource page.
Notes: For animal cruelty reports, residents are directed to the PSPCA per the county’s own resource listing.
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
Clarion County is genuinely home to Pennsylvania’s very first 9-1-1 center (1973) and a substantial portion of Cook Forest State Park, one of the most significant old-growth forest preserves in the eastern United States. 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 Clarion County
Clarion County is northwestern Pennsylvania’s wild river and ancient forest county – a community defined by the Clarion River’s scenic beauty and Cook Forest’s extraordinary old-growth trees.
Clarion (the county seat, population ~5,000) is anchored by Clarion University of Pennsylvania – a Pennsylvania State System university whose student population significantly exceeds the borough’s permanent residents.
Cook Forest State Park’s Cathedral Area contains the tallest trees in the eastern United States – white pines and hemlocks reaching 180 feet, survivors of the logging era that stripped most of Pennsylvania’s forests in the 19th century.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Clarion County Assessment Office at 421 Main Street, Clarion, PA 16214, phone 814-226-4000. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Clarion County Register of Wills at 421 Main Street, Clarion, PA 16214, phone 814-226-4654, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clarion County Register of Wills, Clarion (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Clarion 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, Clarion County County Courthouse, 421 Main Street, Suite 24, Clarion, PA 16214 (814) 226-4000 Clarion County is in western Pennsylvania, seated in Clarion.
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 Clarion 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 Clarion 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
421 Main St, Clarion, PA 16214
(814) 226-4000
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
421 Main St, Clarion, PA 16214
(814) 226-4550
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
421 Main St, Clarion, PA 16214
(814) 226-4000
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
12 Grant St, Clarion, PA 16214
(814) 226-4700
Assistance Office (DHS)
55 South 6th Ave, Clarion, PA 16214
(814) 226-1130
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clarion County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Clarion, PA
Related: Clarion County Assistance Office – 71 Lincoln Drive, Clarion, PA 16214, (814) 226-1700, Hours: 8 AM–5 PM.
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Clarion
Population: 38,000
Established: 1839
Tier: 3
Public Records
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