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Pennsylvania County
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Bilger's Rocks and West Branch Susquehanna coal heritage - from Bilger's Rocks (one of Pennsylvania's most unusual natural landmarks, the massive glacial erratic boulders at Bilger's Rocks near Grampian create a labyrinthine field of ancient sandstone formations - some weighing hundreds of tons - that children and adults can explore through the gaps and passages in what feels like a prehistoric landscape) to Clearfield County's deep coal and timber heritage (the county was a center of Pennsylvania bituminous coal mining and timber harvesting through the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the West Branch Susquehanna River valley's industrial history shaped the communities and culture of central Pennsylvania).
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Office: Clearfield County Department of Emergency Management – 911 Leonard Street, Clearfield, PA 16830 | Office: (814) 765-5357 | Dispatch: (800) 689-3535 / (814) 765-1533 | Email: [email protected]
Services: Countywide 911 dispatch and emergency management, including the 2022 Clearfield County Hazard Mitigation Plan; funded in part through the state-mandated 911 telephone access fee ($18/year max per Act 78 of 1990), currently $1.50/month per access line in Clearfield County
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-80 and US-322 serve Clearfield, the county seat, along the West Branch Susquehanna River in north-central Pennsylvania
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: No single countywide building department – permits are generally handled at the MUNICIPAL level
Services: Clearfield County Planning Department – 212 East Locust Street, Ste 128, Clearfield, PA 16830, (814) 765-5149; Lawrence Township, for example, uses the PennSafe Building Inspection Services third-party system under 2018 International Building/Residential Codes, with a $70 base permit fee plus $3 per $1,000 of construction value over $2,000; DuBois Code Enforcement – 16 West Scribner Avenue, DuBois, PA 15801, (814) 371-2002
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction and inspection process for your specific municipality.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Clearfield County Veterans Affairs Office – Clearfield, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Clearfield County Public Library – federated system with a bookmobile and branches in Curwensville and Osceola Mills
Main Branch: Joseph & Elizabeth Shaw Public Library – 1 South Front Street, Clearfield, PA 16830 | (814) 765-3271 | Hours: Mon/Wed 9 AM–5 PM, Tue/Thu 10 AM–9 PM, Fri 12–5 PM, Sat 10 AM–5 PM (closed Sun); serving the Clearfield community since 1940
Related: Curwensville branch – 601 Beech Street, Curwensville, PA 16833, (814) 236-0589/0533, Hours: Mon/Wed 12:30–8 PM, Tue/Thu/Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 9 AM–3 PM (closed Sun); Osceola Mills branch – 600 Lingle Street, Osceola Mills, PA 16666, (814) 339-7229, Hours: Mon/Wed 1–8 PM, Tue/Thu 10 AM–5 PM, Sat 9 AM–1 PM (closed Fri/Sun); DuBois Public Library – 31 S Brady Street, DuBois, PA 15801, (814) 371-5930, Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu 9 AM–8 PM, Wed/Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 9 AM–4 PM, a separately operated library serving DuBois, the county’s only city.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Clearfield County holds genuine deep frontier and Native American history: the county seat, Clearfield borough, sits on the site of Chinclacamoose (also spelled Chinklacamoose), a historic Native American village that once marked a key junction on the Great Shamokin Path, the primary trail connecting Sunbury to Kittanning that gave early European settlers their first access to the region; the county’s most distinctive marked landmark is the CHERRY TREE MONUMENT, erected in 1894 at the meeting point of Clearfield, Indiana, and Cambria Counties – a genuine tri-county corner – commemorating a large cherry tree that served as a critical navigational landmark for surveyors and travelers moving through the region in the 1770s, marking the practical head of navigation on the West Branch Susquehanna River for commercial lumbermen and settlers moving upriver from communities like Karthaus, Clearfield, and Curwensville; the county’s 15-stop History Trail (created for America’s 250th anniversary) also includes the Bloody Knox Cabin along Route 453, where in 1864 Union Army soldiers of Co. C, 16th Veteran Reserve Corps, surrounded a cabin sheltering Civil War deserters and draft dodgers, resulting in one soldier killed and 18 men arrested for draft evasion – a lesser-known but genuine piece of Civil War homefront history; the county’s economy historically rested on lumbering, tanning (the first tannery built in Lawrence Township in 1811), and coal, with DuBois emerging as a coal and rail hub after 1874
Notes: The Cherry Tree Monument’s genuine, well-documented status marking a real 1770s frontier landmark at a true tri-county boundary point is a distinctive piece of Pennsylvania frontier history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Clearfield County GIS – accessible via clearfieldcountypa.gov
Parcel Search: Clearfield County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Clearfield County Department of Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Clearfield County SPCA – 275 21st Street, Clearfield, PA 16830 | (814) 765-2220 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat 1:30–5 PM (closed Wed/Sun); currently open by appointment only
Services: A full-service, open-door shelter accepting any and all animals in need from Clearfield, Centre, and Jefferson Counties; employs a full-time Humane Society Police Officer to enforce Pennsylvania animal cruelty laws; adoption fees $150 (dogs) / $75 (cats); adopters from any area may apply but must complete adoption in person at the shelter
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
Clearfield County is genuinely home to the historic Cherry Tree Monument, marking a real 1770s frontier landmark at the tri-county corner of Clearfield, Indiana, and Cambria Counties, and the county seat sits on the former site of Chinclacamoose, a Native American village on the Great Shamokin Path. 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 Clearfield County
Clearfield County is central Pennsylvania’s West Branch Susquehanna coal heritage and natural wonders county – the county’s bituminous coal and timber past shaped generations of working communities while Bilger’s Rocks and the scenic river valley provide natural landmarks that attract outdoor recreation visitors to the forested hills of central Pennsylvania.
Clearfield (the county seat, population ~6,100) is Clearfield County’s governmental hub along the West Branch Susquehanna, with DuBois serving as the county’s largest city and primary commercial center along I-80.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Clearfield County Assessor at 230 E. Market Street, Clearfield, PA 16830, phone 814-765-2641. PA assessed at percentage of market value.
Courts & Legal
Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas at 1 N. Second Street, Clearfield, PA 16830, phone 814-765-2641, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clearfield County Register of Wills, Clearfield (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Clearfield 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, Clearfield County Clearfield County Courthouse, 1 North 2nd Street, Suite 103, Clearfield, PA 16830 (814) 765-2641
Clearfield County is in west-central Pennsylvania, seated in Clearfield. The 1860 Clearfield County Courthouse, Second Empire in style with a clock tower, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 Clearfield 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 Clearfield 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
230 East Market St, Clearfield, PA 16830
(814) 765-2641
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
230 East Market St, Clearfield, PA 16830
(814) 765-2641
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
230 East Market St, Clearfield, PA 16830
(814) 765-2641
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
810 Wall St, Clearfield, PA 16830
(814) 765-2686
Assistance Office (DHS)
511 Spruce St, Clearfield, PA 16830
(814) 765-0570
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clearfield County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Clearfield, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Clearfield
Population: 79,000
Established: 1804
Tier: 2
Public Records
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