The Historic Elk County Courthouse in Ridgway

The hisotric Elk County Courthouse is located in Ridgway, Pennsylvania. You'll find it at the intersection of Main and Broad Streets. There's a historical marker on the property that gives you all of the past history and information regarding the courthouse. Here's some of that information.

In the early 1800s, ancient forests stretched unbroken across northwestern Pennsylvania. Jacob Ridgway of Philadelphia, one of the richest men in the United States, saw opportunity in the region's massive trees and clear-flowing rivers and purchased 100,000 acres of this land, newly deeded to the U.S. government by the Six Nations Indian tribes. In 1822, his land agent, James Gillis, founded Ridgway at the Montmorency Farm Site six and one-half miles from the present town site. Because Montmorency lacked adequate streams to operate mills and float goods to market, Gillis shifted the town of Ridgway to this river valley. 

When Elk County was established in 1843, towns vied for the honor of becoming the county seat. Ridgway prevailed and, in 1845, constructed a wooden courthouse on this site. By 1879, Elk County had outgrown the wooden courthouse and sold it at public auction to Hugh McGeehan for $135. 

A few months later, the cornerstone of the new courthouse was laid with great ceremony. Town fathers placed within it a copper box containing period newspapers, coins, and a poem commemorating the day. In 1880, the courthouse was completed, built of native sandstone and brick and roofed with tin and slate. The original half-ton steel bell still hangs in the bell tower.

On the property you'll find various historical markers for Elk County and the Elk County Courthouse. The town clock is also located here. On the day that we visited the courthouse was undergoing major construction. They had the property roped off, so we couldn't get any closer than standing on the sidewalk. You'll need to park down one of the side streets and walk up to visit it.

I'm hoping that the next time we're in the area we can get close and walk through their gorgeous landscaped grounds.