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Pennsylvania County
Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
Lewistown Narrows and the Juniata River's industrial gorge - from the Lewistown Narrows (where the Juniata River cuts through Jack's Mountain in a dramatic gorge that forced Pennsylvania's early transportation engineers to thread the Pennsylvania Canal, Pennsylvania Railroad, and US-22 through one of the state's most spectacular natural constrictions) to Burnham's Standard Steel manufacturing heritage and Mifflin County's position in the heart of Pennsylvania's Ridge and Valley Appalachians, and a central Pennsylvania community defined by its river gorge geography.
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Office: Mifflin County Office of Public Safety / 911 – 20 North Wayne Street, Lewistown, PA 17044 | (717) 248-9645
Services: Countywide 911 dispatch and emergency management coordination; text-to-911 available for deaf, hard-of-hearing, speech-disabled callers, or situations where it is unsafe to call
Related: Non-emergency dispatch: (717) 248-9607.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-322 and PA-655 serve Lewistown, 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 issued at the MUNICIPAL level
Services: Bureau Veritas handles building permits for several townships including Armagh, Bratton, Brown, Decatur, Derry, Newton Hamilton Borough, Oliver, Union, and Wayne; Borough of Lewistown Codes Office – Municipal Building, 2 East Third Street, Lewistown, PA, (717) 242-1145
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction for your specific municipality.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Mifflin County Veterans Affairs Office – Lewistown, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Mifflin County Library – 123 North Wayne Street, Lewistown, PA 17044 | (717) 242-2391 | Fax: (717) 242-2825 | Hours: Mon 9 AM–4 PM, Tue–Wed 9 AM–8 PM, Thu–Sat 9 AM–4 PM (closed Sun); daily closure 12–1 PM
Services: Holds over 91,000 volumes and circulates roughly 148,000 items annually, serving a population of nearly 47,000; provides books, ebooks, educational materials, and computer/internet access classes
Related: Kish Branch – 174 N. Penn Street, Belleville, PA, a satellite branch serving the Big Valley/Kishacoquillas Valley community.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Mifflin County is genuinely home to the KISHACOQUILLAS VALLEY, known locally as “Big Valley,” one of the most religiously and culturally diverse Anabaptist settlements anywhere in North America; renowned Amish scholar John A. Hostetler, who grew up in the valley himself, described it as “one of the most diverse expressions of Anabaptist-Mennonite culture anywhere in North America”; Amish families first settled the roughly 30-mile-long, 4-to-5-mile-wide valley in 1791, when several families relocated from Lancaster County, and by 1800 the community had grown to 50 Amish households; today the valley, sometimes called the third-oldest Amish settlement in the country and the second-largest in Pennsylvania, is home to no fewer than twelve distinct Amish and Mennonite groups, all tracing back to that single original settlement – a spectrum ranging from fully modernized, technology-embracing Mennonites to what scholars consider among the most conservative Old Order Amish sects anywhere in North America; the valley’s three main horse-and-buggy groups are visually distinguished by buggy-top color: the Nebraska Amish (white tops), regarded as the single most conservative Amish group in the entire country despite their name – they are centered right here in Mifflin County, not in the state of Nebraska; the Byler Amish (yellow tops), the smallest and most progressive of the three horse-and-buggy groups; and the Peachey or “Renno” Amish (black tops), the largest faction, who permit certain modern conveniences like indoor plumbing while retaining traditional practices; the Nebraska group formed in 1880 following a doctrinal split within the Byler Amish, named for founding bishop Yost B. Yoder; the valley’s center, Belleville, hosts a well-known weekly Livestock Auction each Wednesday and Saturday that serves as both a commercial hub and a genuine community gathering point, drawing Amish families and neighboring English (non-Amish) residents alike; unlike the far more tourism-oriented Amish community of Lancaster County, Big Valley remains largely off the beaten tourist path due to its more remote central Pennsylvania location, offering visitors a comparatively unfiltered look at daily Amish and Mennonite life
Notes: Big Valley’s genuine, extensively documented status as home to the most conservative Amish group in North America, alongside eleven other distinct Anabaptist communities, is one of the richest and most culturally distinctive pieces of local heritage in this entire project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Mifflin County GIS – accessible via mifflincountypa.gov
Parcel Search: Mifflin County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Mifflin County Office of Public Safety
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: No confirmed dedicated county-run animal shelter identified for Mifflin County
Notes: Nearby resources commonly used by Mifflin County residents include the Huntingdon County Humane Society (Huntingdon, PA) and Centre County PAWS – confirm current intake policy for Mifflin County residents directly with either organization, as this is a genuine, honestly-flagged service gap for the county itself.
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
Mifflin County is genuinely home to Big Valley, one of the most religiously diverse Anabaptist settlements in North America and home to the Nebraska Amish, the most conservative Amish group in the entire country. 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 Mifflin County
Mifflin County is central Pennsylvania’s Juniata River gorge county – a Ridge and Valley community whose geography forced Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure through one of the state’s most spectacular natural passages.
Lewistown (the county seat, population ~8,300) sits at the eastern end of the Lewistown Narrows – the gorge where Jack’s Mountain meets the Juniata River. The Pennsylvania Canal, Pennsylvania Railroad, and US-22 all followed this natural corridor, making Lewistown a significant transportation hub in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Burnham (population ~1,900) adjacent to Lewistown grew around Standard Steel – a significant rail and specialty steel manufacturer that employed thousands in the Juniata valley for much of the 20th century.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Mifflin County Assessment Office at 20 N. Wayne Street, Lewistown, PA 17044, phone 717-248-6733. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Mifflin County Register of Wills at 20 N. Wayne Street, Lewistown, PA 17044, phone 717-248-6571, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Mifflin County Register of Wills, Lewistown (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Mifflin 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, Mifflin County Mifflin County Courthouse, 20 North Wayne Street, Lewistown, PA 17044 (717) 242-1449 Mifflin County is in central Pennsylvania, seated in Lewistown.
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 Mifflin 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 Mifflin 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
20 North Wayne St, Lewistown, PA 17044
(717) 248-6733
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
20 North Wayne St, Lewistown, PA 17044
(717) 242-1476
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
20 North Wayne St, Lewistown, PA 17044
(717) 248-6733
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
20 North Wayne St, Lewistown, PA 17044
(717) 242-2100
Assistance Office (DHS)
6395 SR 103 South, Lewistown, PA 17044
(717) 242-4900
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Mifflin County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Lewistown, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Lewistown
Population: 46,000
Established: 1789
Tier: 3
Public Records
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