Elk County, Pennsylvania

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Elk County Courthouse is located at 240 Main Street, Ridgway PA 15853; phone: 814‑776‑1161.

Beginnings [1]

TOWNS

Formed April 18, 1843; possesses everywhere great scenic beauty; a large herd of elk, last known herd of the Black Forest, still existed, for which the county was named; the last elk was killed in 1857. The Black Forest formerly covered a vast area of northwest Pennsylvania, the deep green of the hemlock giving a mystery of blackness; here many varieties of large and small animals abounded. Climate and geological formation differ from surrounding counties in ratio of altitude; the growing season is usually two or three weeks later on account of late frosts; agriculture is now chief industry. Bituminous coal was discovered by " Blind Mike " on Priest's Land at St. Mary's in 1853, and is continuously worked. Natural gas, oil, high-grade clays, and shale are other mineral resources. Jimanandy Park [2], 3600 acres of almost virgin forest, stocked with deer; through which a trout run flows, is the property of heirs of Senator James K. P. Hall, and Honorable Andrew Kaul; permission to inspect the park may be obtained at office of J. R. P. Hall at St. Mary's.

  1. Archambault, A. Margaretta, ed., A Guide Book of Art, Architecture, and Historic Interests in Pennsylvania, John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, 1924
  2. Jimandandy - named by and for James Knox Polk Hall (Jim) and Andrew Kaul (Andy), History of the Counties of McKean, Elk and Forest, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Selections including their Early Settlement and Interesting Localities; Sketches of their Cities, Towns and Villages; Portraits of Prominent Men; Biographies of Representative Citizens; Outline of History of Pennsylvania; Statistics, etc., 1890, J.H. Beers & Co., Chicago

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