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Pennsylvania County
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Punxsutawney Phil and the world's most famous groundhog - from Punxsutawney's Groundhog Day celebration (the February 2 ceremony at Gobbler's Knob - where Phil the groundhog's shadow-seeing has been celebrated since 1887 and was immortalized by the 1993 Bill Murray film Groundhog Day - draws 40,000+ visitors annually to a small western Pennsylvania city) to Brookville's Victorian courthouse and the Clear Creek State Park's exceptional stream fishing, and a north-central Pennsylvania county whose most famous resident is a groundhog.
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Office: Jefferson County Department of Emergency Services – 560 Service Center Road, Brookville, PA 15825 | (814) 849-5052 | Fax: (814) 849-6387
Services: Comprises the County Emergency Management Agency, the Jefferson County 911 Center, the county Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and Hazardous Materials Response; dispatches 21 fire stations covering Jefferson and surrounding counties; 911 dispatch began in 1973 as “County Control,” originally serving just four Brookville-area agencies before expanding countywide over the following decades
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-322 and PA-28 serve Brookville, the county seat, in north-central 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; Brookville Borough, for example, outsources UCC building code enforcement to PennSafe Building Inspections Services, LLC – 175 Beaver Drive, PO Box 486, DuBois, PA 15801, (814) 375-1111; review takes a minimum of 3 days and maximum of 30 days
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction and inspection agency for your specific municipality.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Jefferson County Veterans Affairs Office – Brookville, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Jefferson County Library System (JeffCo Libraries)
Main Branch: Mengle Memorial Library – 324 Main Street, Brockway, PA 15824 | (814) 265-8245 | Hours: Mon–Thu 10 AM–7 PM, Fri–Sat 10 AM–5 PM (closed Sun) – serves as system headquarters
Services: Multiple branch libraries throughout the county; standard public library programming and interlibrary services
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Jefferson County is genuinely and world-famously home to PUNXSUTAWNEY, birthplace of the modern Groundhog Day celebration and its star, Punxsutawney Phil; the tradition traces back to Pennsylvania Dutch (German) settlers who brought with them the European folk belief – rooted in Candlemas Day customs – that a hibernating animal’s behavior upon emerging in early February could predict how much winter remained; local groups of “Weather Prophets” began informally observing the custom in Punxsutawney by the mid-1880s, and on February 2, 1886, Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper editor Clymer Freas published the first official newspaper proclamation of Groundhog Day, declaring the groundhog “has not seen its shadow”; the first organized public celebration at Gobbler’s Knob, a wooded hilltop just outside town, followed on February 2, 1887, launched by the newly formed Punxsutawney Groundhog Club; the groundhog was given the elaborate honorific title “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinaire,” and the town itself became known as the “Weather Capital of the World”; Phil’s actual forecasting accuracy is a subject of good-natured local debate – estimates place it around 39-40% correct historically – though devoted fans dispute this; each year on February 2, tens of thousands of visitors gather before dawn at Gobbler’s Knob to watch Phil emerge from a heated burrow beneath a simulated tree stump at 7:25 AM and deliver his prediction, with the event drawing worldwide media attention, especially since the release of the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray, which transformed the local tradition into a global phenomenon; Phil lives year-round in a climate-controlled habitat at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library (fittingly, another library-and-mascot pairing, much like Indiana County’s Jimmy Stewart Museum); the historic Gobbler’s Knob site now includes a year-round Groundhog Visitor Center with interactive exhibits, a groundhog sanctuary, and Groundhog Club headquarters, while the Jefferson County Historical and Genealogical Society in Brookville offers deeper exhibits on the science and folklore of weather prediction
Notes: Punxsutawney’s genuine, extensively documented status as the birthplace of America’s most famous weather-predicting tradition is a beloved and world-recognized piece of Pennsylvania heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Jefferson County GIS – accessible via jeffersoncountypa.gov
Parcel Search: Jefferson County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Jefferson County Department of Emergency Services
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Willow Run Sanctuary & Adoptions, Inc. (WRSA) – Brookville, PA | Email: [email protected]
Services: Described as the hub for humane services in Jefferson County; a 100% volunteer-based nonprofit and the ONLY animal-related organization in the county that sponsors a voluntary Humane Officer, enforcing PA humane law against animal abusers; receives no state or federal funding, relying entirely on public donations
Related: Punxsutawney Animal Control – 6300 Pennsylvania 36, Punxsutawney, PA, a separate local shelter resource for the Punxsutawney area.
Notes: Confirm current hours and intake status directly, as this is a small, all-volunteer organization.
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
Jefferson County is genuinely and world-famously the home of Punxsutawney Phil and the birthplace of America’s Groundhog Day tradition, celebrated annually at Gobbler’s Knob since 1887. 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 Jefferson County
Jefferson County is north-central Pennsylvania’s groundhog county – a community whose annual February 2 celebration has made Punxsutawney one of the most internationally recognized small American cities.
Punxsutawney (population ~6,000) hosts Groundhog Day ceremonies dating to 1887 – the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s annual Gobbler’s Knob celebration draws 40,000+ visitors and generates global media coverage. The 1993 Bill Murray film Groundhog Day (filmed in Woodstock, Illinois) cemented Punxsutawney’s international fame.
Brookville (the county seat, population ~3,800) has a fine Victorian courthouse and serves as the county’s governmental hub.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Jefferson County Assessment Office at 155 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825, phone 814-849-1606. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Jefferson County Register of Wills at 155 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825, phone 814-849-1606, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Jefferson County Register & Recorder, Brookville – birth and death records from 1893-1906 held locally; later records filed with PA Vital Records (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Punxsutawney, the county’s largest borough, is internationally known for Groundhog Day (Punxsutawney Phil).
Local societies
No dedicated Jefferson 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, Jefferson County Jefferson County Courthouse, 200 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825 (814) 849-1610
Jefferson County was established March 26, 1804 and organized October 1, 1830, named for Thomas Jefferson, in west-central Pennsylvania, seated in Brookville (largest borough Punxsutawney, famous for Groundhog Day).
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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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
155 Main St, Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-1611
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
155 Main St, Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-1660
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
155 Main St, Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-1637
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
155 Main St, Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-1626
Assistance Office (DHS)
815 Bell Ave, Punxsutawney, PA 15767
(814) 938-5680
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Jefferson County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Brookville, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Brookville
Population: 43,000
Established: 1804
Tier: 3
Public Records
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