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Pennsylvania · North-Central Pennsylvania · #776
Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
On the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in north-central Pennsylvania, Williamsport gave America Little League Baseball - the organization founded here in 1939 by Carl Stotz and now hosting the Little League World Series each August, when teams from across the world converge on Lamade Stadium and the city becomes one of the most watched venues in youth sports.
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Office: Lycoming County Emergency Management Agency – Williamsport, PA | (570) 433-4461
Services: Assists municipalities with emergency operations plans (EOP), Basic Plans, and Notification & Resource Manuals; provides planning support and coordinates with PEMA
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-15 and US-220 serve Williamsport, the county seat, along the West Branch Susquehanna River in north-central Pennsylvania
Transit: River Valley Transit (RVT) provides local bus service in Williamsport – confirm current routes directly.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: No countywide building department – permits are issued at the MUNICIPAL level
Services: City of Williamsport Bureau of Codes – 100 West 3rd Street, Williamsport, PA 17701, (570) 327-7500, Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM, follows the PA Uniform Construction Code and current International Code Standards; Lycoming County Planning & Community Development – 330 Pine Street, Ste 300, Williamsport, PA 17701, (570) 320-2100, serves as the county Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and handles planning/zoning permits, liquor transfer licenses, street vacations, and subdivisions
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction for your specific municipality outside Williamsport.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Lycoming County Veterans Affairs Office – Williamsport, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: James V. Brown Library – headquarters of the Lycoming County Library System and the North Central Library District
Main Branch: 19 East Fourth Street, Williamsport, PA 17701 | (570) 326-0536 | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–7 PM, Fri 9 AM–6 PM, Sat 9 AM–4 PM (closed Sun)
Services: Opened in 1907 as a bequest from lumber baron and philanthropist James VanDuzee Brown, who left $150,000 (including a $10,000 book fund and $10,000 annual endowment) for the library’s creation after his 1904 death – an idea originally suggested by his late wife, Carile; the striking French Renaissance-style building, designed by Edgar V. Seeler and built of white Pennsylvania marble, opened with roughly 12,000 volumes, 150 of which were checked out on its very first day; a major children’s wing expansion (26,400 sq ft across three floors) began in 2008
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Williamsport, Lycoming County’s seat, is genuinely and world-famously the birthplace of LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL, now the largest organized youth sports organization on Earth; the idea originated in the summer of 1938, when 28-year-old Williamsport oil-supply company clerk Carl E. Stotz began playing catch with his young nephews, Jimmy and Major Gehron, and dreamed up the idea of an organized baseball league specifically sized and structured for children; that summer, Stotz gathered neighborhood kids and experimented with different field dimensions and equipment, though no formal games were played yet; the following year, joined by his wife Grayce and friends George and Bert Bebble (with their wives Annabelle and Eloise), Stotz officially launched the first Little League – just three teams, each sponsored by a different local business: Lundy Lumber, Lycoming Dairy, and Jumbo Pretzel; Stotz’s innovations included shrinking the base paths to 60 feet (versus 90 in adult baseball) and setting the pitcher’s mound just 40 feet from home plate (later adjusted to 46 feet), along with introducing lighter, safer bats and balls sized for young players; the very first official Little League game was played on June 6, 1939, with Lundy Lumber defeating Lycoming Dairy 23-8; the league grew steadily through the World War II years, expanding to 12 leagues across Pennsylvania by 1947, and the first-ever national tournament – precursor to today’s Little League World Series – was held in Williamsport in 1949; the tradition has continued uninterrupted, with Williamsport remaining the permanent home of the Little League World Series ever since, drawing elite 11- and 12-year-old teams from around the globe each August to Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Little League Volunteer Stadium at the Little League International Complex in neighboring South Williamsport; the complex also houses the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum, which tells the organization’s history through interactive exhibits, and the original 1939 ballfield, now preserved as Carl E. Stotz Field on West Fourth Street in Williamsport, still marks the literal birthplace of the sport
Notes: Little League Baseball’s genuine, world-famous, extensively documented birthplace in Williamsport – now spanning over 180,000 teams and 2.6 million participants worldwide – is one of the most celebrated pieces of American sports heritage anywhere in this entire project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Lycoming County GIS – accessible via lycomingcountypa.gov
Parcel Search: Lycoming County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Lycoming County Emergency Management Agency
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Lycoming County SPCA – Williamsport, PA | PA Kennel License #2617
Services: An independent, privately funded animal shelter serving Williamsport and Lycoming County; pulls animals from a range of situations including hoarding cases, abuse/neglect, owner surrenders, and transfers from underserved shelters across the US
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
Lycoming County’s seat, Williamsport, is genuinely and world-famously the birthplace of Little League Baseball, founded there in 1939 and still home to the Little League World Series every August. 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 Lycoming County
Lycoming County’s Williamsport has the specific distinction of being the birthplace of the most watched youth sporting event in the world. Carl Stotz organized the first Little League game in Williamsport in 1939, and the organization grew from that local experiment into a worldwide institution with millions of players in over 80 countries. The Little League World Series at Howard J. Lamade Stadium draws tens of thousands of visitors to Williamsport each August and receives extensive ESPN coverage – the scale of national attention given to an event in a city of 28,000 people is genuinely remarkable.
Williamsport’s earlier claim to distinction was as America’s “Lumber Capital” in the 1870s and 1880s – the white pine logs floated down the Susquehanna’s tributaries made Williamsport one of the wealthiest cities per capita in the country, and the Millionaires’ Row of Victorian mansions on West Fourth Street preserves the built evidence of that extraordinary wealth. Loyalsock Creek, the Loyalsock State Forest, and the Susquehanna River provide outdoor recreation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Pennsylvania assesses property at 100% of estimated market value. Property owners may appeal to the Board of Assessment Revision. Pennsylvania’s senior tax freeze applies for qualifying homeowners 65 or older. Pennsylvania has an estate tax above $4 million; Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax – 4.5% on transfers to children, 12% to siblings, 15% to others.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Lycoming County Office of Aging
330 Pine Street, Suite 500, Williamsport, PA 17701
Phone: (570) 320-2180
Senior Services
Lycoming County Office of Aging
330 Pine Street, Suite 500, Williamsport, PA 17701
Phone: (570) 320-2180
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lycoming County Register & Recorder, Williamsport (testamentary/administration records, estate inventories, and land records dating back to 1795 – see Probate section above).
Williamsport is internationally known as home of the Little League World Series.
Local societies
No dedicated Lycoming 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, Lycoming County Lycoming County Courthouse, 48 West Third Street, Williamsport, PA 17701 (570) 327-2210
Lycoming County was founded April 13, 1795, named for Lycoming Creek, in north-central Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania’s largest county by land area, over 1,244 sq mi), seated in Williamsport – home of the Little League World Series.
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 Lycoming 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 Lycoming 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
48 West 3rd St, Williamsport, PA 17701
(570) 327-2263
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
48 West 3rd St, Williamsport, PA 17701
(570) 327-2270
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
542 County Farm Rd, Montoursville, PA 17754
(570) 601-5300
Assistance Office (DHS)
340 East 3rd St, Williamsport, PA 17701
(570) 327-3600
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lycoming County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Williamsport, PA
Related: UPMC Williamsport – a Level II Trauma Center originally established in 1873 as Williamsport Hospital, following industrial accidents that prompted the Lycoming County Medical Society to petition for a dedicated hospital.
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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County Facts
County Seat: Williamsport
Population: 114,000
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Lycoming County facilities via Amazon.
