Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Pennsylvania County
Crawford County, Pennsylvania
Pymatuning Reservoir and French Creek oil country - from Pymatuning Reservoir (the massive 17,000-acre reservoir straddling the Pennsylvania-Ohio border is one of the largest man-made lakes in the eastern United States, renowned for its extraordinary spillway where carp and other fish are so densely packed that "ducks walk on the fish" - a Pymatuning State Park tradition that draws visitors from across the region) to Crawford County's early oil heritage (Crawford County was part of the original Pennsylvania oil region, with early petroleum production along French Creek preceding the famous Drake Well discovery by years and contributing to the county's 19th-century industrial character).
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Crawford County Department of Public Safety – 632 Pine St., Meadville, PA 16335 | Admin: (814) 724-8110 | After-hours: (814) 724-2548
Services: Responsible for the county 911 Communications Center and Emergency Management Agency, maintaining the County-Wide Hazard Mitigation Plan (updated 2025); businesses are asked to keep after-hours contact info on file with the department
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-19, US-322, and I-79 serve Meadville, the county seat and Northwestern Pennsylvania’s first permanent settlement (established May 12, 1788)
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: No countywide building department – permits are issued at the MUNICIPAL level
Services: City of Meadville – 984 Water Street, Meadville, PA 16335, (814) 724-6000, opted into the PA Uniform Construction Code effective 5/17/04, Building Code Official Justin Sciallo, (814) 333-3351; Meadville Zoning – 1150 Morgan Village Road, (814) 336-1271
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction and building code official for your specific municipality.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Crawford County Veterans Affairs Office – Meadville, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Meadville Public Library – 848 N Main St, Meadville, PA 16335 | (814) 336-1773
Services: Part of the Crawford County library system and POWER Library network; hosts regular used book sales and community programming
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Meadville is genuinely and historically known worldwide as “Zipper City, USA” – the birthplace of the modern zipper as we know it today; the concept traces to Chicago inventor Whitcomb L. Judson’s unreliable 1893 “Clasp Locker,” which he patented after founding the Universal Fastener Company with backing from Meadville corporate attorney Lewis Walker; the company relocated several times – first to New Jersey as the Automatic Hook and Eye Company, then the Hookless Fastener Company – before Walker, a graduate of Meadville’s Allegheny College, brought operations to his hometown around 1913, drawn by the area’s skilled workforce; in 1906, Walker had hired Swedish-American engineer Gideon Sundback, who spent years refining the design and by the 1910s-20s developed the “Hookless No. 2” – an interlocking-tooth slide fastener that became the direct ancestor of virtually every modern zipper, a breakthrough recognized by Sundback’s later induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame; the company, renamed Talon in 1937, built specialized precision machinery in Meadville capable of producing millions of metal zipper teeth, and by the 1920s-30s the “zipper” (a name popularized by B.F. Goodrich) had become standard on boots, coats, military uniforms, and children’s clothing; at its wartime peak, Talon’s Meadville and nearby Erie factories together employed some 5,000 workers in a city of fewer than 19,000 people, with 1941 sales reaching $31 million and an estimated 7 of every 10 zippers made worldwide bearing the Talon name through the 1960s; the demanding precision manufacturing also gave rise to a renowned apprenticeship program that helped establish Meadville – still nicknamed “Tool City” today – as home to one of the highest concentrations of tool-and-die makers per capita anywhere in the world; wartime copper shortages, corporate mergers (Textron in 1968), and eventual overseas competition steadily eroded Talon’s market share, and the company was ultimately sold to British textile firm Coats Viyella in 1991, ending Meadville’s century as the zipper capital of the world
Notes: Meadville’s genuine, extensively documented history as the birthplace of the modern zipper – including the enduring “Tool City” manufacturing legacy it left behind – is a distinctive and often-overlooked piece of American industrial history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Crawford County GIS – accessible via crawfordcountypa.net
Parcel Search: Crawford County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Crawford County Department of Public Safety
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Crawford County Humane Society – 11012 Kennedy Hill Rd, Meadville, PA 16335 | (814) 724-5115 | Website: cchspets.org
Services: A nonprofit founded in 1952 by 15 community members, offering adoption services, stray animal care, and a thrift store supporting its mission
Notes: IMPORTANT – some listings (including the organization’s own Facebook page) show this shelter as “Permanently Closed” as of early 2022, while other current listings (Yelp reviews dated 2026, county directories) suggest ongoing activity; status is UNCLEAR – confirm directly by phone before relying on this as an active resource.
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
Crawford County’s seat, Meadville, is genuinely and historically known worldwide as “Zipper City, USA,” the birthplace of the modern zipper and longtime home of the Talon Zipper Company. 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 Crawford County
Crawford County is northwest Pennsylvania’s Pymatuning Reservoir and French Creek oil heritage county – the remarkable spillway where ducks walk on fish and Allegheny College’s historic Meadville campus anchor a county of scenic lakes, early petroleum history, and outdoor recreation along the Pennsylvania-Ohio border.
Meadville (the county seat, population ~13,000) is Crawford County’s governmental and academic hub, home to Allegheny College and the regional commercial center for Crawford County’s lake communities and surrounding agricultural areas.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Crawford County Assessor at 903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335, phone 814-333-7300. PA assessed at percentage of market value.
Courts & Legal
Crawford County Court of Common Pleas at 903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335, phone 814-333-7400, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Crawford County Register of Wills, Meadville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Crawford 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, Crawford County Crawford County Judicial Center, 359 East Center Street, Meadville, PA 16335 (814) 333-7442 Crawford County is in northwestern Pennsylvania, seated in Meadville.
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 Crawford 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 Crawford 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
903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335
(814) 333-7335
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335
(814) 333-7355
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335
(814) 333-7305
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335
(814) 333-7350
Assistance Office (DHS)
18131 Conneaut Lake Rd, Meadville, PA 16335
(814) 332-6501
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Crawford County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Meadville, PA
Related: Meadville Medical Center – a nonprofit community health system serving Crawford County’s 75,000+ residents plus 150,000 more across northwestern PA, logging nearly 380,000 patient visits and over 37,000 ER visits annually; the county’s largest employer.
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Meadville
Population: 84,000
Established: 1800
Tier: 2
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Crawford County residents.
