Pennsylvania County Resources

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| E4|| Centre|| Willowbank Co. Office Bldg., 414 Holmes St., Bellefonte 16823-1488 || 1800||Lycoming/Mifflin/Huntingdon||1801||1800, Willowbank Co. Office Bldg.,  414 Holmes St., Ste. #2, Bellefonte 16823
| E4|| Centre|| Willowbank Co. Office Bldg., 414 Holmes St., Bellefonte 16823-1488 || 1800||Lycoming/Mifflin/Huntingdon||1801||1800, Willowbank Co. Office Bldg.,  414 Holmes St., Ste. #2, Bellefonte 16823
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| J6|| Chester|| 235 West Market St., Ste. 100, P.O. Box 100, West Chester 19380 || 1682||original||1688||1924, 1714–1923*, 2 North High St., Ste. 109, P.O. Box 2748, West Chester 19380-0991
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| || colspan="10" | *Located at Chester County Archives and Records Service, Government Services Bldg., Ste. 80, 610 Westtown Rd., West Chester, PA 19382.
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| B3|| Clarion|| Main St., Clarion 16214 || 1839||Venango/Armstrong||1840||1840
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| D4|| Clearfield|| 230 East Market St., P.O. Box 361, Clearfield 16830-0361 || 1804||Lycoming/Huntingdon||1805||1823
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| || colspan="10" | Not organized for judiciary purposes until 1822, Clearfield functioned as a part of Centre County.
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| F3|| Clinton|| Water and Jay Streets, P.O. Box 943, Lock Haven 17745-0943 || 1839||Lycoming/Centre||1839||1839
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| H3|| Columbia|| 35 West Main St., Box 380, Bloomsburg 17815-0380 || 1813||Northumberland||1813||1813
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| A2|| Crawford|| 903 Diamond Sq., Meadville 16335|| 1800||Allegheny||1800||1800
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| G6|| Cumberland|| 1 Courthouse Sq., Carlisle 17013|| 1750||Lancaster||1750||1750
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| H5|| Dauphin|| Front & Market Sts., Rm. 102, P.O. Box 1295, Harrisburg 17108-1295|| 1785||Lancaster||1785||1785, Front & Market Sts., Rm. 103, Harrisburg 17101
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| K6|| Delaware|| Govt. Admin. Bldg. #107, 201 West Front St., Media 19063|| 1789||Chester||1789||1789
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| D2|| Elk|| P.O. Box 314, Ridgway 15853-0314|| 1843||Jefferson/McKean/Clearfield||1844||1844
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| A1|| Erie|| 140 West 6th St., Rm. 121, Erie 16501|| 1800||Allegheny||1823||1823
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| || colspan="10" | Erie was attached to Crawford County until 1803. A courthouse fire destroyed pre-1823 records.
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| B6|| Fayette|| 61 East Main St., Uniontown 15401-3514|| 1783||Westmoreland||1784||1784
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| C2|| Forest|| 526 Elm St., P.O. Box 423, Tionesta 16353-0423|| 1848||Jefferson/(part of Venango;annexed 1866)||1857||1855
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| || colspan="10" | Forest was attached to Jefferson County until 1857.
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| E6|| Franklin|| 157 Lincoln Way East, Chambersburg 17201-2211|| 1784||Cumberland||1784||1784
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| E6|| Fulton|| North Second St., McConnellsburg 17233|| 1850||Bedford||1850||1851
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| A6|| Greene|| 93 East High St., Waynesburg 15370|| 1796||Washington||1796||1796
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| C4|| Indiana|| 825 Philadelphia St., Indiana 15701-3934|| 1803||Lycoming/Westmoreland||1806||1803
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| || colspan="10" | Indiana was attached to Westmoreland County until 1806.
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| C3|| Jefferson|| 200 Main St., Brookville 15825-1236|| 1804||Lycoming||1828||1832
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| || colspan="10" | Jefferson was attached to Westmoreland County until 1806 and to Indiana County until 1830.
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| F5|| Juniata|| P.O. Box 68, Mifflintown 17059-0068|| 1831||Mifflin||1831||1831
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| J3|| Lackawanna|| North Washington Ave., Scranton 18503|| 1878||Luzerne||1878||1878
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| J6|| Lancaster|| 50 North Duke St., Lancaster 17602-2805|| 1729||Chester||1729||1729, 50 North Duke St., Lancaster 16702-3480
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| || colspan="10" | Some early court records have been transferred to the Lancaster County Historical Society, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster, PA 17603.
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| A4|| Lawrence|| County Government Center, 430 Court St., New Castle 16101|| 1849||Beaver/Mercer||1849||1849
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| H5|| Lebanon|| 107 Municipal Bldg., 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon 17042-6794|| 1813||Dauphin/Lancaster||1813||1813, 105 Municipal Bldg., 400 South 8th St., Lebanon 17042-6794
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Revision as of 15:05, 27 April 2010

This entry was originally written by Roger D. Joslyn, CG, FUGA, FGBS, FASG for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of
the Pennsylvania Family History Research series.
History of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Vital Records
Census Records for Pennsylvania
Background Sources for Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Maps
Pennsylvania Land Records
Pennsylvania Probate Records
Pennsylvania Court Records
Pennsylvania Tax Records
Pennsylvania Cemetery Records
Pennsylvania Church Records
Pennsylvania Military Records
Pennsylvania Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections
Pennsylvania Archives, Libraries and Societies
Pennsylvania Immigration
Pennsylvania Naturalization
Ethnic Groups of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania County Resources
Map of Pennsylvania


The township is the basic political unit in the county and may have within its boundaries incorporated towns, boroughs, and cities, although these would have their own local governments.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is comprised of sixty-seven counties and here may be found records of land, estates, taxes, vital records, divorces, naturalizations, voter registration, court records, and so forth. In 1952 an archives was started in Philadelphia, the oldest city archives in the country. John Daly compiled a Descriptive Inventory to its holdings in 1970. The first county archives was established in Chester County in 1982 and is considered the model for the Commonwealth. A number of other county archives are underway at various stages throughout Pennsylvania. For more detail about county office holdings, see the County Records Survey, Record Series Inventory, 1985–86, available on microfiche from the state archives, although Philadelphia is not included, and Monroe County follows Montgomery out of alphabetical sequence. This survey updates the inventories prepared by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), although the latter have greater detail. See also Stevens and Kent’s County Government Archives cited under Vermont Court Records.

The first column below indicates the map coordinates. In the second column is the name of the county and the mailing address of the recorder of deeds, where deeds and mortgages are found. The third column shows the date of county formation, with the name or names of the parent county or counties. The fourth column gives the date the earliest deed was recorded. The last column gives the mailing address of the register of wills, if different from the recorder. Estate records are found in the register’s office or orphans’ court. (See Vermont Court Records for other county offices.)

The Counties and County Seats of Pennsylvania

Map County County Address Date Formed Parent County(ies) Deeds Register of Wills
G6 Adams Courthouse, Gettysburg 17325-2398 1800York18001800
A5 Allegheny County Office Bldg., 542 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh 15219 1788Washington/Westmoreland17881789, City-County Building, Pittsburgh 15219
B4 Armstrong Market St., Kittanning 16201 1800Allegheny/Lycoming/Westmoreland18051805
Armstrong was attached to Westmoreland County until 1805.
A4 Beaver 810 Third St., Bldg. B, Beaver 15009-0537 1800Allegheny/Washington18031800, 801 Third St., Beaver 15009
Beaver was attached to Allegheny County until 1803.
D6 Bedford 200 South Juliana St., Bedford 15522-1714 1771Cumberland17711771
J5 Berks 633 Court St., 3d Floor, Reading 19601-3594 1752Chester/Lancaster/Philadelphia17521752, 633 Court St., 2d Floor
There are unrecorded deeds back to 1717 on microfilm at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
E5 Blair 423 Allegheny St., Hollidaysburg 16648-2022 1846Huntingdon/Bedford18461846
H2 Bradford 301 Main St., Towanda 18848-1824 1810 (as Ontario)Luzerne/Lycoming (renamed and formally organized, 1812)18121812
K5 Bucks 55 East Court St., Doylestown 18901 1682original16841683
B4 Butler 124 West Diamond St., P.O. Box 1208, Butler 16001-1208 1800Allegheny18041804
Butler was attached to Allegheny County until 1803.
D5 Cambria 200 South Center St., Ebensburg 15931 1804Somerset/Bedford/Huntingdon18461819, P.O. Box 298, Ebensburg 15931-0298
Cambria was attached to Somerset County until 1807.
E3 Cameron 20 East Fifth St., Emporium 15834-1469 1860Clinton/Elk/McKean/Potter18601863
J4 Carbon Hazard Sq. and Rt. 209, P.O. Box 87, Jim Thorpe 18229-0087 1843Monroe/Northampton18431843, 1 Hazard Sq., P.O. Box 286, Jim Thorpe 18229-0286
E4 Centre Willowbank Co. Office Bldg., 414 Holmes St., Bellefonte 16823-1488 1800Lycoming/Mifflin/Huntingdon18011800, Willowbank Co. Office Bldg., 414 Holmes St., Ste. #2, Bellefonte 16823
J6 Chester 235 West Market St., Ste. 100, P.O. Box 100, West Chester 19380 1682original16881924, 1714–1923*, 2 North High St., Ste. 109, P.O. Box 2748, West Chester 19380-0991
*Located at Chester County Archives and Records Service, Government Services Bldg., Ste. 80, 610 Westtown Rd., West Chester, PA 19382.
B3 Clarion Main St., Clarion 16214 1839Venango/Armstrong18401840
D4 Clearfield 230 East Market St., P.O. Box 361, Clearfield 16830-0361 1804Lycoming/Huntingdon18051823
Not organized for judiciary purposes until 1822, Clearfield functioned as a part of Centre County.
F3 Clinton Water and Jay Streets, P.O. Box 943, Lock Haven 17745-0943 1839Lycoming/Centre18391839
H3 Columbia 35 West Main St., Box 380, Bloomsburg 17815-0380 1813Northumberland18131813
A2 Crawford 903 Diamond Sq., Meadville 16335 1800Allegheny18001800
G6 Cumberland 1 Courthouse Sq., Carlisle 17013 1750Lancaster17501750
H5 Dauphin Front & Market Sts., Rm. 102, P.O. Box 1295, Harrisburg 17108-1295 1785Lancaster17851785, Front & Market Sts., Rm. 103, Harrisburg 17101
K6 Delaware Govt. Admin. Bldg. #107, 201 West Front St., Media 19063 1789Chester17891789
D2 Elk P.O. Box 314, Ridgway 15853-0314 1843Jefferson/McKean/Clearfield18441844
A1 Erie 140 West 6th St., Rm. 121, Erie 16501 1800Allegheny18231823
Erie was attached to Crawford County until 1803. A courthouse fire destroyed pre-1823 records.
B6 Fayette 61 East Main St., Uniontown 15401-3514 1783Westmoreland17841784
C2 Forest 526 Elm St., P.O. Box 423, Tionesta 16353-0423 1848Jefferson/(part of Venango;annexed 1866)18571855
Forest was attached to Jefferson County until 1857.
E6 Franklin 157 Lincoln Way East, Chambersburg 17201-2211 1784Cumberland17841784
E6 Fulton North Second St., McConnellsburg 17233 1850Bedford18501851
A6 Greene 93 East High St., Waynesburg 15370 1796Washington17961796
C4 Indiana 825 Philadelphia St., Indiana 15701-3934 1803Lycoming/Westmoreland18061803
Indiana was attached to Westmoreland County until 1806.
C3 Jefferson 200 Main St., Brookville 15825-1236 1804Lycoming18281832
Jefferson was attached to Westmoreland County until 1806 and to Indiana County until 1830.
F5 Juniata P.O. Box 68, Mifflintown 17059-0068 1831Mifflin18311831
J3 Lackawanna North Washington Ave., Scranton 18503 1878Luzerne18781878
J6 Lancaster 50 North Duke St., Lancaster 17602-2805 1729Chester17291729, 50 North Duke St., Lancaster 16702-3480
Some early court records have been transferred to the Lancaster County Historical Society, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster, PA 17603.
A4 Lawrence County Government Center, 430 Court St., New Castle 16101 1849Beaver/Mercer18491849
H5 Lebanon 107 Municipal Bldg., 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon 17042-6794 1813Dauphin/Lancaster18131813, 105 Municipal Bldg., 400 South 8th St., Lebanon 17042-6794
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