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Pennsylvania County
Juniata County, Pennsylvania
The Juniata River's limestone trout heritage and Pennsylvania's quiet Ridge and Valley - from the Juniata River's extraordinary limestone spring-fed tributary system (the Juniata watershed's Big Spring Creek, Lost Creek, and other limestone streams produce some of the finest wild brown trout fishing in the eastern United States, drawing fly fishermen from across the region) to Mifflintown's courthouse serving one of Pennsylvania's most consistently rural counties and the unspoiled Ridge and Valley landscape where Shade Mountain, Jack's Mountain, and Tuscarora Mountain alternate in the parallel ridges that define central Pennsylvania's geography.
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Office: Juniata County Emergency Management – 11 N. Third St., Mifflintown, PA 17059 | (717) 436-7731 | Fax: (717) 470-3093 | Email: [email protected] | Mailing: PO Box 68, Mifflintown, PA 17059
Services: Countywide disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery; uses Smart911 for fast, accurate emergency response information
Related: Juniata County 911 Services – implemented under PA Act 78 of 1990 (Public Safety 911 Telephone Act).
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-322 and PA-35 serve Mifflintown, the county seat, along the Juniata River in 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 handled at the MUNICIPAL/township level by individually appointed Permit Officers and Zoning Officers
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction and current permit officer for your specific township – Juniata County has 13 townships and 4 boroughs, each with its own designated officials (contact the Juniata County Courthouse, (717) 436-8991, if unsure which applies).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Juniata County Veterans Affairs Office – Mifflintown, PA
Services: Holds over 41,000 volumes and circulates roughly 78,000 items annually; offers ebooks, public computers, one-on-one tech help, lifelong learning courses, and youth programs; maintains a regular column in the local Juniata Sentinel, Port Royal Times, and Lewistown Sentinel newspapers
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Juniata County sits at the historic heart of the “Juniata iron region,” one of Pennsylvania’s most significant 18th- and 19th-century industrial centers; the region’s iron industry began in 1785 when Bedford Furnace went into blast in present-day Orbisonia, the first furnace west of the Susquehanna River valley, producing pig iron, stove plates, and household utensils; abundant local iron ore, extensive forests for charcoal fuel, and numerous streams for water power drew ironmasters to the area spanning present-day Centre, Huntingdon, Juniata, and Mifflin Counties, and by the 1830s the Juniata iron region had become one of Pennsylvania’s most important iron manufacturing areas; between 1786 and the industry’s decline in 1922, the broader valley hosted a remarkable 73 furnaces and 62 forges fueled by charcoal – a scale of production that made “Juniata iron” synonymous with high-quality metal throughout much of the 19th century, though the region’s industrial legacy remains comparatively understudied next to famous later steel centers like Pittsburgh and Bethlehem; the completion of the Juniata branch of the Pennsylvania Canal (1827-1829) – whose first canal boat, aptly named the “Juniata,” was built right in Mifflintown – connected the region to wider markets and attracted notable travelers, including Charles Dickens, who documented his journey along the Juniata in “American Notes” (1842), and Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote of her own trip in Godey’s Lady’s Book (1841); Juniata County itself was formally created in 1831 from part of Mifflin County, after two decades of local lobbying by residents who resented the difficult journey through the treacherous Lewistown Narrows gorge to conduct legal business; the county’s name is an English rendering of an Iroquois word referring to the Oneida “people of standing stone,” who erected ceremonial monoliths in their villages; today, remnants of the old charcoal iron furnaces still dot the Juniata Valley landscape, often marked by crumbling stone pyramid ruins and towns whose names still carry “furnace” as a namesake
Notes: The Juniata iron region’s genuine, well-documented status as one of early Pennsylvania’s most significant industrial centers – visited and described by both Dickens and Stowe – is a distinctive piece of American industrial heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Juniata County GIS / Assessment & GIS Department – 1 N Main St., Mifflintown, PA | (717) 436-7740 | Email: [email protected]
Parcel Search: Juniata County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through the Assessment & GIS Department
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: No confirmed dedicated county-run animal shelter identified for Juniata County
Notes: This is a genuine, honestly-flagged service gap for such a small, rural county – residents should confirm current resources directly with the county, as coverage may come from neighboring county humane societies (e.g., Huntingdon County Humane Society or Mifflin County resources) or local municipal/Sheriff’s Office contacts.
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
Juniata County sits at the genuine historical heart of the “Juniata iron region,” one of Pennsylvania’s most significant early industrial centers, whose 19th-century canal journeys were documented by both Charles Dickens and Harriet Beecher Stowe. 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 Juniata County
Juniata County is south-central Pennsylvania’s quiet limestone valley county – a Ridge and Valley agricultural community whose world-class trout fishing and unspoiled Appalachian landscape attract anglers and outdoor enthusiasts while maintaining a genuinely rural character.
Mifflintown (the county seat, population ~900) is one of Pennsylvania’s smaller county seats – a Juniata River community whose courthouse and modest commercial district serve the surrounding agricultural county.
The Juniata River and its limestone-fed tributaries offer exceptional wild trout fishing – Big Spring Creek and other spring creeks maintain near-constant temperatures year-round, producing large wild brown trout in a pastoral setting.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Juniata County Assessment Office at 1 N. Main Street, Mifflintown, PA 17059, phone 717-436-7706. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Juniata County Register of Wills at 1 N. Main Street, Mifflintown, PA 17059, phone 717-436-7718, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Juniata County Register and Recorder, Mifflintown (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Juniata 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, Juniata County 1 North Main Street, Mifflintown, PA 17059 (717) 436-7709 Juniata County is in central Pennsylvania, seated in Mifflintown.
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 Juniata County, along with the original will if one exists. In Juniata County, probate is by appointment only – call ahead to schedule.
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 (and inheritance tax payments mailed to) the Register and Recorder’s Office, 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 Juniata 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
1 North Main St, Mifflintown, PA 17059
(717) 436-7712
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1 North Main St, Mifflintown, PA 17059
(717) 436-7710
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
1 North Main St, Mifflintown, PA 17059
(717) 436-7728
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
79 Skyline Dr, Mifflintown, PA 17059
(717) 436-7739
Assistance Office (DHS)
105 Chestnut St, Mifflintown, PA 17059
(717) 436-5813
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Juniata County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Mifflintown, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Mifflintown
Population: 24,000
Established: 1831
Tier: 3
Public Records
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