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Pennsylvania · Pennsylvania Dutch Country · Cumberland Valley · #440 Most Populous County in the US
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Dutch Country's Cumberland Valley county - from Lebanon's boloney (bologna) capital identity and the historic Cornwall Iron Furnace to Palmyra's candy-making heritage, Annville's Lebanon Valley College campus, and the agricultural communities of the fertile Great Valley between Blue Mountain and South Mountain. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Lebanon County residents.
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Lebanon County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Lebanon County Department of Emergency Services (LCDES) – 400 South 8th Street, Room 12, Municipal Building, Lebanon, PA 17042 | (717) 272-7621 | Hours: Mon–Thu 7 AM–4 PM, Fri 7 AM–3 PM
Services: Countywide emergency management (preparedness, response, mitigation, recovery) staffed by one coordinator and two planners, augmented by volunteers during emergencies; ALSO serves as a PA state-certified Hazardous Materials Response Unit for chemical spills and biohazards, plus search and rescue and confined space rescue capabilities; NOTE – this office is separate from the 911 Communications Center and does not take emergency calls directly.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-78, US-422, and US-322 serve Lebanon, the county seat, in south-central Pennsylvania between Harrisburg and Reading
Transit: Lebanon Transit (LT), formerly County of Lebanon Transit (COLT) – 200 Willow Street, Lebanon, PA, operates 10 conventional and 3 express bus routes plus commuter service to Harrisburg and a Saturday route to Lancaster’s Park City Center.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lebanon County Planning Department – issues building permits for participating (opt-in) municipalities countywide | (717) 228-4444
Services: Handles Uniform Construction Code (UCC) enforcement for opt-in municipalities and can perform residential code work for opt-out municipalities as well
Notes: Confirm whether your specific municipality has opted in to county-administered permitting or handles it independently.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Lebanon County Veterans Affairs Office – Room 106, Municipal Building, Lebanon, PA, ext. 4422
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Lebanon County Libraries (LCLibs) – federated system
Main Branch: Lebanon Community Library – 125 North 7th St., Lebanon, PA 17046 | (717) 273-7624 | Hours: Mon–Wed 8 AM–8 PM, Thu 8 AM–7 PM, Fri–Sat 8 AM–5 PM
Services: Standard public library services including a Summer Learning Program and Access World News (NewsBank) digital resource; email support: [email protected]
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lebanon County is genuinely and proudly the birthplace of LEBANON BOLOGNA, a distinctive all-beef, hardwood-smoked meat product with a tangy, fermented flavor unlike any other American “bologna” – closer in character to a cured summer sausage than typical lunchmeat; the product’s origins trace to Pennsylvania Dutch (German immigrant) farmers in Lebanon County who, prior to the 1780s, developed the recipe as a practical way to use tougher, leaner meat from older dairy cattle no longer productive for milk, salting and curing it before slow-smoking it over hardwood in small attic curing chambers called “Rauchkammer”; by the early 1800s it had become a common regional foodstuff, and it remains today an “identity food” deeply tied to southeastern Pennsylvania’s Pennsylvania Dutch culinary heritage; the modern commercial industry traces most directly to Harvey Seltzer, a country butcher who in 1902 began producing his own recipe of pure beef and spices in a former bottling works in Palmyra, founding what became Seltzer’s Smokehouse Meats – today a fourth-generation family business and, according to the company, the very first federally-inspected Lebanon Bologna producer in the country, now one of the oldest continuously USDA-inspected meat operations in the United States; the product is still hung in traditional outdoor wooden smokehouses for two to three days as part of its production process; the city of Lebanon leans fully into this culinary identity, hosting an annual New Year’s Eve “bologna drop” in place of a traditional ball drop, and locals take genuine pride in the specific regional pronunciation “Leb-nun buh-LOW-nuh,” distinct from generic American “baloney”; a dedicated Lebanon Bologna museum exists locally to preserve this heritage
Notes: Lebanon Bologna’s genuine, extensively documented status as a distinctive, centuries-old Pennsylvania Dutch food tradition – still produced using largely traditional methods – is one of the most beloved and locally distinctive pieces of culinary heritage in this entire project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Lebanon County GIS – accessible via lebanoncountypa.gov | Geographical Information Systems: Room 208, ext. 4491
Parcel Search: Lebanon County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Lebanon County Department of Emergency Services
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Humane Society of Lebanon County – 150 North Ramona Road, Myerstown, PA 17067 | (717) 628-1369 | Hours: Tue–Sun 10 AM–4:30 PM (Wed until 6:30 PM), closed Mondays
Services: The ONLY animal shelter within Lebanon County, accepting strays and surrenders from every municipality in the county; receives NO state or national organization funding (not affiliated with HSUS or ASPCA), relying entirely on community donations; maintains a part-time Humane Society Police Officer to investigate cruelty and neglect complaints, reports all transactions to the PA Dog Law Enforcement Bureau, and operates an 1,800-square-foot Learning Center for community education programs
Related: A separate satellite adoption location operates at 129 Cumberland Street, Lebanon, PA, Thu–Sun 9 AM–3 PM.
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
Lebanon County is genuinely the birthplace of Lebanon Bologna, a distinctive all-beef smoked meat with roots dating to the 1780s, still produced today by fourth-generation family businesses using largely traditional methods. 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 Lebanon County
Lebanon County is a south-central Pennsylvania county and the 440th most populous in the United States, covering 362 square miles of the Great Appalachian Valley between Blue Mountain to the north and South Mountain to the south.
Lebanon (the county seat, population ~26,000) is the self-proclaimed “Lebanon Bologna Capital of the World” – a cured, smoked, and fermented beef sausage unique to Lebanon County that has been produced here since Pennsylvania German settlers developed the recipe in the 18th century. Seltzer’s Lebanon Bologna and Weaver’s Lebanon Bologna are the two primary commercial producers whose products are distributed nationally. The county’s Pennsylvania German (Deutsch) cultural heritage permeates its food culture, agricultural practices, and community identity.
Cornwall Iron Furnace – a National Historic Landmark north of Lebanon – is the most intact 18th-century iron furnace in the Western Hemisphere, operating from 1742 to 1883 and preserved in extraordinary condition. The Cornwall Ore Banks that supplied the furnace represent one of the most productive iron ore deposits in colonial America.
Palmyra (population ~7,500) is the birthplace and headquarters of Hershey’s Ice Cream (unrelated to the Hershey Chocolate Company despite the shared name and proximate geography) – a regional dairy and ice cream company. Palmyra is also known for the Palmyra Bologna (a competing local variant) and the historic Palmyra Speedway.
Annville is home to Lebanon Valley College (a private liberal arts institution founded 1866, enrollment ~2,000) – the county’s primary academic anchor.
The Lebanon Valley is one of Pennsylvania’s most fertile agricultural areas – limestone soils and favorable climate produce exceptional crops, and the county’s farms have maintained agricultural productivity despite suburban pressure from the Harrisburg metro.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Lebanon County uses a base year assessment system with the CLR determining the effective relationship between assessed and market values.
The appeal process: File with the Lebanon County Board of Assessment Appeals at 400 S. 8th Street, Room 103, Lebanon, PA 17042, phone 717-228-4416. Deadline: August 1 for the following tax year. PA inheritance tax: 0% to spouses, 4.5% to direct descendants, 12% to siblings, 15% to all others.
OWNWELL CTA: Lebanon County Board of Assessment Appeals: August 1. Cumberland Valley agricultural market stable; Palmyra and Annville suburban appreciation steady. PA inheritance tax 4.5% to descendants. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Lebanon County Board of Assessment Appeals: August 1. Cumberland Valley agricultural market stable; Palmyra and Annville suburban appreciation steady. PA inheritance tax 4.5% to descendants. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Orphans’ Court (Probate): The Lebanon County Orphans’ Court and Register of Wills at 400 S. 8th Street, Lebanon, PA 17042, phone 717-228-4430, handle wills, estate administration, and guardianships.
Court of Common Pleas: Handles civil, criminal, and family matters.
Recorder of Deeds: The Lebanon County Recorder of Deeds at 400 S. 8th Street maintains real property records. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging at 710 Maple Street, Lebanon, PA 17042, phone 717-274-2363, serves the county’s senior population with in-home services, caregiver support, nutrition programs, and transportation. WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon provides significant geriatric care.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across Lebanon County - from Lebanon and Palmyra to Annville, Myerstown, and the Pennsylvania Dutch country communities.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lebanon County Register of Wills, Lebanon (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Lebanon 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, Lebanon County County Courthouse, Room 105, 400 South 8th Street, Lebanon, PA 17042 (717) 228-4415 Lebanon County is in southeastern Pennsylvania, seated in Lebanon.
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 Lebanon 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 Lebanon 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
400 South 8th St, Lebanon, PA 17042
(717) 228-4426
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
400 South 8th St, Lebanon, PA 17042
(717) 228-4405
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
400 South 8th St, Lebanon, PA 17042
(717) 228-4428
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Department of Human Services
400 South 8th St, Lebanon, PA 17042
(717) 228-4300
Assistance Office (DHS)
2801 Bill Zimmerman Way, Lebanon, PA 17042
(717) 228-6000
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lebanon County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Lebanon, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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