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Pennsylvania County
Perry County, Pennsylvania
Juniata River trout country across from Pennsylvania's capital - from New Bloomfield's courthouse on the ridge above the Juniata River valley to the Juniata River's exceptional wild trout and smallmouth bass fishing through Perry County's limestone valleys, the Appalachian Trail's passage through the county's Blue Mountain ridgeline, and a south-central Pennsylvania county that has maintained its rural agricultural character directly across the Susquehanna from Harrisburg despite the capital's proximity.
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Office: Perry County Emergency Management / 911 Center – Perry County Courthouse, 2 East Main Street, New Bloomfield, PA 17068 | Non-emergency: (717) 582-4311 | Fax: (717) 582-7320
Services: Countywide emergency management coordination and 911 dispatch; supported by emergency generators for major power outages
Related: Local EMS agencies include Blain EMS, (717) 536-3131; Duncannon EMS, (717) 834-5904; Landisburg EMS, (717) 789-3080; Liverpool EMS, (717) 444-3512; Millerstown EMS; New Bloomfield EMS.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-322 and PA-34 serve New Bloomfield, the county seat, in south-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, many via the Central Keystone Council of Governments (CK-COG)
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction and zoning requirements for your specific municipality before applying for a building permit.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Perry County Veterans Affairs Office – New Bloomfield, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Perry County has several independent community libraries rather than a single unified system
Main Branch: New Bloomfield Public Library – 23 E. McClure Street, New Bloomfield, PA 17068
Services: Holds over 20,000 cataloged items; offers various community programs, with new program ideas welcomed from the public
Related: Newport Public Library also serves the county – confirm the correct branch/hours for your specific area.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Perry County was created on March 22, 1820, carved out of Cumberland County in part because residents grew tired of traveling over the mountains to reach the county seat of Carlisle for official business; the new county was named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the celebrated naval hero of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812, who had died recently at the time of the county’s founding (the same historic 1813 naval battle documented in the neighboring Erie County file); the county is genuinely home to fourteen historic covered bridges – among the highest concentrations remaining in Pennsylvania – scattered across its rural landscape alongside seventeen old mills, most spanning Shermans Creek and Big/Little Buffalo Creek; several of these bridges, including Dellville Bridge (at 174 feet, the widest and longest in the county, built 1889) and Clay’s (Wahneta) Bridge (built 1890, later relocated when Holman Lake was created), use the Burr Arch Truss design patented by Connecticut engineer Theodore Burr, which allowed builders to span longer distances using a single large wooden arch; local Pennsylvania Dutch tradition holds that couples should kiss while passing through a covered bridge for good luck, giving them the enduring nickname “Kissing Bridges”; many of these historic spans, along with two historic taverns, two churches, two historic mansions, a schoolhouse, and a complete 19th-century farmstead, are preserved and maintained today by the Historical Society of Perry County, which also operates a museum of county history inside the Blue Ball Tavern at Little Buffalo State Park; the park itself, just southwest of Newport, centers on Holman Lake and features a restored, still-operating 1849 grist mill (Shoaff’s Mill) alongside Clay’s Covered Bridge, now serving as a pedestrian crossing
Notes: Perry County’s genuine concentration of 14 historic covered bridges, several using patented Burr Arch Truss engineering and carrying real local folk tradition, is a distinctive and well-preserved piece of rural Pennsylvania heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Perry County GIS – accessible via perryco.org
Parcel Search: Perry County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Perry County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Perry County Animal Rescue – New Bloomfield, PA
Notes: Confirm current hours, intake policy, and contact details directly, as detailed current information was limited in available sources; nearby regional resources also serving Perry County residents include Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area.
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
Perry County is genuinely named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and is home to one of Pennsylvania’s highest concentrations of surviving historic covered bridges, fourteen in total. 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 Perry County
Perry County is south-central Pennsylvania’s quiet limestone valley county – a Ridge and Valley agricultural community that has preserved its rural character despite being directly across the Susquehanna River from Pennsylvania’s capital.
New Bloomfield (the county seat, population ~1,300) sits on a ridge above the Juniata River valley – an elevated courthouse town with sweeping valley views serving a dispersed rural population.
The Juniata River and its tributaries provide exceptional wild trout and smallmouth bass fishing through limestone-rich valleys. The Appalachian Trail traverses Blue Mountain along the county’s southern edge, connecting through-hikers to the central Pennsylvania ridge system.
Duncannon (population ~1,500) on the Susquehanna River at the Juniata confluence is the county’s river community and Appalachian Trail resupply point.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Perry County Assessment Office at 25 W. Main Street, New Bloomfield, PA 17068, phone 717-582-2131. Appeal to Board of Assessment Appeals.
Courts & Legal
Perry County Register of Wills at 25 W. Main Street, New Bloomfield, PA 17068, phone 717-582-2131, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Perry County Register of Wills, New Bloomfield (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Perry 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, Perry County 2 East Main Street, PO Box 223, New Bloomfield, PA 17068 (717) 582-2131 Perry County is in south-central Pennsylvania, seated in New Bloomfield.
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 Perry 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 Perry 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
2 West Main St, New Bloomfield, PA 17068
(717) 582-2131
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
2 West Main St, New Bloomfield, PA 17068
(717) 582-2131
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
2 West Main St, New Bloomfield, PA 17068
(717) 582-2131
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Human Services
25 West Main St, New Bloomfield, PA 17068
(717) 582-8703
Assistance Office (DHS)
4 West Main St, New Bloomfield, PA 17068
(717) 582-2131
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Perry County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – New Bloomfield, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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