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Pennsylvania County
Greene County, Pennsylvania
America's deepest longwall coal mines and Waynesburg University's Methodist heritage - from Greene County's distinction as home to some of the deepest and most productive longwall coal mines in the United States (the Pittsburgh Coal Seam underlies the entire county at depths of 800-1,200 feet, with longwall operations producing millions of tons annually while causing surface subsidence that visibly alters the landscape) to Waynesburg University's Cumberland Presbyterian founding and a southwestern Pennsylvania Appalachian community defined by coal on every level.
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Office: Greene County Emergency Management Agency / 911 Center – 55 West Greene Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370 | (724) 627-5387
Services: Established in 1978 as the lead agency for multi-organizational community disaster planning, response, and recovery; maintains the county Hazard Mitigation Plan and hosts the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for hazardous materials safety; 911 texting available (“Call if you can, text if you can’t”)
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-19 and PA-21 serve Waynesburg, the county seat, named for Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne, in southwestern Pennsylvania
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
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction for your specific municipality.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Greene County Veterans Affairs Office – Waynesburg, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Eva K. Bowlby Public Library – 311 North West Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370 | (724) 627-9776 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–7 PM, Fri–Sat 9 AM–3 PM (closed Sun)
Services: A genuinely high-performing library system – welcoming roughly 170,000 in-person visits per year (nearly triple the Pennsylvania statewide average), ranking #23 out of 443 library systems statewide by annual visitation despite serving a modest population of roughly 24,000-26,000 residents; holds over 76,000 total items including print, ebooks, audio, and video; offers 10 public computer terminals, Smart Locker pickup service, and a free 24/7 statewide “Chat with a Librarian” service, including text-based chat support
Related: Cornerstone Genealogical Society – 144 E Greene St, Waynesburg, PA, (724) 627-5653, Hours: Mon–Fri 1–5 PM, housed within Greene County’s historic 1797 Log Courthouse, a licensed FamilySearch affiliate research library.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Greene County is genuinely and by a wide margin Pennsylvania’s leading coal-producing county, sitting atop the largest bituminous coal reserves in the entire Commonwealth; large-scale commercial mining did not begin in Greene County until after 1886, developing slowly at first from small drift mines along Ten Mile Creek near Waynesburg that supplied coal by wagon for local heating and small manufacturing; the county’s fortunes transformed dramatically over the following century as major mines – including the Mather Mine (the county’s top producer by 1921), and later the massive Robena and Nemacolin operations – propelled Greene County from producing just 2% of Pennsylvania’s coal in 1922 to 2nd place statewide by 1960 (15% of state production); by 1986, Greene County had overtaken every other Pennsylvania county to become the state’s #1 coal producer, a position it has held for more than three decades since; by 1994, the county alone was producing nearly half of all coal mined in Pennsylvania, and as of 2016 it still accounted for roughly 75% of the state’s recorded coal production; today, coal mining remains the county’s top industry, with roughly eight active mines still in production, and a monument to Greene County’s coal miners stands at the county Welcome Center plaza, erected by the Greene County Coal Miners’ Monument Committee in recognition of the industry’s defining role in the county’s identity and economy
Notes: Greene County’s genuine, extensively documented status as Pennsylvania’s leading coal-producing county for more than three decades running is a defining and enduring economic identity, distinct from the state’s better-known anthracite coal regions in the east.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Greene County GIS – accessible via co.greene.pa.us / greenecountypa.gov
Parcel Search: Greene County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Greene County Emergency Management Agency
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Humane Society of Greene County – 183 Jefferson Road, Waynesburg, PA 15370 | (724) 627-9988 | Fax: (724) 852-5344 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: By appointment only – Mon/Wed/Sat 12–5 PM (call ahead)
Services: Currently operating on an appointment-only basis, closed to walk-in public visits; adoption requires completing an Adoption Application before a scheduled visit; also accepts and processes lost animal reports via an online Lost Animal Form
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
Greene County is genuinely and by a wide margin Pennsylvania’s leading coal-producing county, having held the top production spot statewide for more than three decades. 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 Greene County
Greene County is Pennsylvania’s southwestern corner coal county – an Appalachian community whose deep Pittsburgh Coal Seam makes it one of the most productive coal counties in the eastern United States.
Waynesburg (the county seat, population ~4,000) is home to Waynesburg University – a Cumberland Presbyterian-affiliated liberal arts institution founded 1849 with enrollment of approximately 1,800.
Greene County’s longwall mining panels advance through the Pittsburgh seam, allowing controlled surface subsidence that has altered streams, buildings, and roads in active mining areas.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Greene County Assessment Office at 93 E. High Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370, phone 724-852-5211. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Greene County Register of Wills at 10 E. High Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370, phone 724-852-5230, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Greene County Register of Wills, Waynesburg (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). Greene County Register and Recorder holds real estate records from 1926 to present, with historical index books back to 1796.
Local societies
No dedicated Greene 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, Greene County Greene County Courthouse, 10 East High Street, Room 100, Waynesburg, PA 15370 (724) 852-5284 Greene County is in the far southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, seated in Waynesburg.
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 Greene 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 Greene 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
93 East High St, Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 852-5232
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
93 East High St, Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 852-5266
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
93 East High St, Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 852-5237
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
19 South Washington St, Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 852-5231
Assistance Office (DHS)
40 West High St, Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 627-8121
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Greene County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Waynesburg, PA
Related: Washington Health System – Greene – (724) 627-3101.
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Waynesburg
Population: 35,000
Established: 1796
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Greene County residents.
