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Pennsylvania County
Fulton County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's most rural Ridge and Valley county and the Forbes Road corridor - from McConnellsburg's courthouse serving one of Pennsylvania's most sparsely populated communities to Fulton County's position along the historic Forbes Road (the 1758 military road General Forbes cut to capture Fort Duquesne, now US-30, was a foundational route of American westward expansion through Pennsylvania) and the Buchanan State Forest's hunting and recreation in the Tuscarora and Sideling Hill ridges.
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Fulton County Emergency Management Agency – 219 North 2nd Street, Suite 106, McConnellsburg, PA 17233 | (717) 485-3201 | Fax: (717) 485-3767 | Email: [email protected] | Director: Brian J. Barton | Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM
Services: Countywide emergency management coordination and 911 communications; 911 telecommunicators receive over 400 hours of training
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-30 (Lincoln Highway) and PA-16 serve McConnellsburg, the county seat, in south-central Pennsylvania’s Great Cove valley
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Fulton County Planning Commission – 116 West Market Street, McConnellsburg, PA 17233 | (717) 485-3717 | Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM
Services: Provides street addresses for county properties; GIS data available by request
Notes: Building permits are handled at the MUNICIPAL level – confirm the correct jurisdiction and zoning ordinance for your specific municipality (e.g., McConnellsburg Borough has its own zoning, stormwater, and floodplain ordinances).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Fulton County Veterans Affairs Office – McConnellsburg, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Fulton County Library – 227 N. First Street, McConnellsburg, PA 17233 | (717) 485-5327 | Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Wed limited (confirm directly), closed Sat/Sun
Services: Operating from its current location – a former American Legion hall that was originally a barn – since 1989; holds roughly 51,000 volumes and circulates nearly 75,000 items annually; because the rural county has no dedicated library tax, the library relies heavily on grants and donations to sustain operations
Related: Hustontown Branch Library – a smaller branch also part of the Fulton County Library system; holds can be placed for pickup at either location.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Fulton County’s seat, McConnellsburg, played a genuine and directly documented role in the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign as Confederate forces invaded Pennsylvania; located west of South Mountain, off the main invasion route toward Gettysburg, the small county seat nonetheless experienced repeated Confederate raids in June 1863 as detachments crossed Cove Mountain seeking horses, cattle, and supplies; on June 19, Colonel Milton J. Ferguson’s 16th Virginia Cavalry, part of General Albert G. Jenkins’s brigade, surprised the sleeping town at 4 AM, pounding on doors to rouse residents before briefly detaining several citizens who ventured outside; a larger Confederate force of roughly 2,500 troops under General Imboden passed through on June 24; the most historically significant moment came on June 29, when Captain Abram Jones led Company A of the 1st New York Cavalry into McConnellsburg to cheering crowds, only to be surprised by returning Confederate scouts from the 18th Virginia Cavalry; in the resulting skirmish, two Confederate soldiers – William B. Moore and Thomas Shelton – were killed, becoming the first Confederate soldiers killed in combat on Pennsylvania soil, just days before the far larger and more famous battle at Gettysburg claimed over 7,600 lives; the town’s citizens buried the two soldiers where they fell, and in 1929 the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a granite monument over their graves; today, the McConnellsburg Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, preserves 144 contributing structures – including the Fulton House, the 1852 Greek Revival Fulton County Courthouse, and the log cabin of town founder Daniel McConnell – reflecting the town’s evolution from an 18th-century frontier settlement along the Great Cove valley into a 20th-century hub along the Lincoln Highway
Notes: The Confederate Dead marker and 1929 UDC monument at McConnellsburg document a genuine, historically significant “first” of the Gettysburg Campaign – presented here as an established historical fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Fulton County GIS – accessible via co.fulton.pa.us
Parcel Search: Fulton County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Fulton County Planning Commission and Emergency Management Agency
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Status UNCLEAR / CONFLICTING – some sources (Best Friends Animal Society) list a “Fulton County Animal Center,” described as the county’s only open-door humane shelter, in operation since 2011, welcoming stray and owner-surrendered cats and dogs; however, other current sources (including a 2024 regional shelter directory compiled by the Antietam Humane Society) explicitly state that Fulton County does NOT have its own county animal shelter and that residents rely on neighboring county resources
Related: Bedford County Humane Society – Bedford, PA, (814) 623-8968; Huntingdon County Humane Society – Huntingdon, PA, (814) 643-7387; Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter – Chambersburg, PA (northern Franklin County), (717) 263-5791.
Notes: Given the conflicting information, confirm current shelter status directly before relying on this as a resource – this is an honestly-flagged uncertainty for Fulton County.
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
Fulton County’s seat, McConnellsburg, is genuinely the site where the first Confederate soldiers were killed in combat on Pennsylvania soil, just days before the Battle of Gettysburg, during the same 1863 campaign. 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 Fulton County
Fulton County is south-central Pennsylvania’s most rural Ridge and Valley county – a Tuscarora Mountain community of farming, hunting, and small-town courthouse life.
McConnellsburg (the county seat, population ~1,200) is one of Pennsylvania’s smallest county seats, serving a sparse agricultural and forest population on US-30.
The Buchanan State Forest provides excellent deer hunting, trout fishing in limestone streams, and ATV trails in the county’s alternating sandstone ridges and limestone valleys.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Fulton County Assessment Office at 201 N. Second Street, Suite 3, McConnellsburg, PA 17233, phone 717-485-4214. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Fulton County Register of Wills at 201 N. Second Street, McConnellsburg, PA 17233, phone 717-485-4212, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Fulton County Register of Wills, McConnellsburg (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Fulton House (built c. 1793), NRHP-listed, once boarded governors and four presidents.
Local societies
No dedicated Fulton 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, Fulton County Fulton County Courthouse, 201 North Second Street, McConnellsburg, PA 17233 (717) 485-4212
Fulton County is in south-central Pennsylvania along the Maryland border, seated in McConnellsburg. The McConnellsburg Historic District, with 142 contributing buildings reflecting Greek Revival, Georgian, and Federal architecture, 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 Fulton 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 Fulton 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
201 North 2nd St, McConnellsburg, PA 17233
(717) 485-4212
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
201 North 2nd St, McConnellsburg, PA 17233
(717) 485-4212
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
201 North 2nd St, McConnellsburg, PA 17233
(717) 485-4212
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
227 North 2nd St, McConnellsburg, PA 17233
(717) 485-6721
Assistance Office (DHS)
227 North 2nd St, McConnellsburg, PA 17233
(717) 485-3396
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Fulton County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – McConnellsburg, PA
Related: Fulton County Medical Center – 24-hour Emergency Department, designated Level IV Trauma Center, West McConnellsburg, PA, (717) 485-6100; the county’s only inpatient hospital (88 beds); also a Safe Haven site for PA newborns (Safe Haven Helpline: 1-866-921-SAFE).
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: McConnellsburg
Population: 14,500
Established: 1850
Tier: 4
Public Records
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