00:00 - Pennsylvania is home to some of

00:02 - the most beautiful courthouses

00:03 - in America.

00:05 - It's rare when politics, art,

00:07 - and law meet at the front door,

00:09 - but it happens in the Keystone

00:10 - State.

00:12 - For more than one hundred twenty

00:13 - five years the County

00:15 - Commissioners Association of

00:16 - Pennsylvania has carried the

00:17 - legacy. Pennsylvania's historic

00:20 - courthouses.

00:30 - Hello I'm Ted Therin, chairman

00:32 - Clarion County Commissioners.

00:34 - I want to welcome you to our

00:35 - beautiful Clarion County to show

00:38 - you our courthouse. Clarion

00:40 - County a six class rural county

00:42 - approximate population thirty

00:44 - nine thousand five hundred.

00:45 - We are located along Interstate

00:47 - 80 on the Allegheny Plateau in

00:49 - Western Pennsylvania.

00:50 - Please sit back, relax, and

00:52 - enjoy our tour of the

00:53 - courthouse.

00:54 - Thanks for coming.

00:56 - The first courthouse in Clarion

00:58 - County was built in 1841.

01:01 - It took a year to complete at a

01:03 - cost of approximately ten

01:04 - thousand six hundred dollars.

01:06 - However the courthouse was short

01:08 - lived.

01:09 - On the evening of March 10th,

01:11 - 1859 fire from a faulty flue

01:15 - caught the courthouse on fire.

01:17 - Without being able to get water

01:19 - to the second floor.

01:20 - It burnt the courthouse roof and

01:22 - many of the floors.

01:23 - However all of the records were

01:25 - saved from that fire.

01:27 - After the fire of the first

01:28 - courthouse the second courthouse

01:30 - began construction in 1863.

01:33 - The cost of the second

01:34 - courthouse was approximately

01:35 - fifteen thousand seven hundred

01:37 - dollars.

01:37 - Unlike the first courthouse it

01:39 - had the cupola in the front of

01:40 - the building.

01:41 - However it did not have a bell

01:43 - or clock in the front of the

01:45 - courthouse.

01:47 - Again 19 years later this court

01:49 - house caught fire and burnt in

01:51 - the year 1882. Citizens could

01:54 - not get water to the second

01:55 - floor or the roof for the

01:56 - courthouse.

01:57 - Again it succumbed to the fire.

02:00 - The first jail in Clarion County

02:02 - was built in 1841 the same time

02:05 - as the courthouse.

02:06 - It was a smaller structure made

02:08 - of cut stone.

02:09 - It cost approximately four

02:11 - thousand dollars to construct.

02:13 - However with time they found out

02:15 - it was not large enough.

02:17 - In 1873 Clarion built a new jail

02:20 - which is still standing behind

02:22 - the current courthouse.

02:24 - It was constructed sandstone and

02:26 - brick on the front part on the

02:28 - corners of the sheriff and the

02:30 - warden and stone on the rear

02:31 - section where the inmates were

02:33 - kept.

02:34 - There were two levels of cells

02:35 - in this jail, which accommodated

02:38 - far more prisoners than they

02:39 - were able to keep and the first

02:40 - one the cost of that jail was

02:42 - approximately 120000 dollars and

02:45 - it was completed in the year

02:46 - 1875.

02:48 - In 1995 the county built a new

02:50 - jail that was in the township

02:52 - until approximately five miles

02:54 - west of Clarion the old jail

02:56 - became the new 911 center, which

02:59 - was the first in the state of

03:01 - Pennsylvania.

03:02 - It opened in April of 1973 and

03:05 - is currently 45 years of

03:07 - service.

03:08 - As you'll see one of the neat

03:09 - things about the old jail is the

03:11 - original doors on the front of

03:12 - the building are still in

03:13 - existence.

03:14 - There are a set of double wooden

03:15 - doors that have the original

03:17 - skeleton key that locks them.

03:20 - Some say that the hanging of

03:21 - Vincent Wojciech took place in

03:23 - front of these doors. Clarion

03:25 - County was established on March

03:27 - 11th, 1839 from parts of Venango

03:30 - County and Armstrong County.

03:33 - Everything east of the Allegheny

03:35 - River and Venango County and

03:37 - everything north of Redbank

03:39 - Creek in Armstrong County became

03:42 - Clarion County.

03:43 - But the area of 600 square miles

03:46 - had the time of creation it was

03:48 - approximately 9500 residents on

03:52 - the top of the courthouse stands

03:53 - a statue of the Greek goddess

03:55 - Themis. Tightness of order and

03:57 - justice. Scales in one hand, a

04:00 - sword in the other hand, no

04:02 - blindfold.

04:04 - Most courthouses have the Lady

04:05 - of Justice, which has a

04:07 - blindfold.

04:08 - However ours is different.

04:10 - She has a mainly formed gaver

04:12 - impartiality.

04:13 - She was placed on top of the

04:14 - courthouse in 1883 and once

04:18 - removed in 1981 for repairs.

04:22 - It was said that she had twenty

04:23 - five bullet holes and was

04:24 - missing an arm when taken down.

04:27 - She was sent to Shelby, Indiana

04:29 - for restoration.

04:30 - She left Clarion at mere 125

04:34 - pounds. When she was returned.

04:36 - She weighed 250 pounds.

04:38 - Inside the clocktower is a bell

04:40 - which weighs 1313 pounds.

04:43 - It was installed through trap

04:45 - doors after the courthouse was

04:47 - built in the year 1885.

04:49 - The bell rings every hour on the

04:51 - hour.

04:52 - It is run by the clockworks

04:55 - which is a bench leg Howard.

04:57 - It was installed in 1885 and

05:00 - still runs the nine foot clock

05:02 - house on each side of the tower

05:05 - and the bell. Also Clarion

05:11 - County is home to Clarion

05:12 - University of Pennsylvania,

05:14 - which began as a seminary in

05:15 - 1871 and started regular college

05:18 - classes in 1887.

05:21 - If you'll notice in the front

05:22 - yard of the courthouse there is

05:24 - a stone marker.

05:25 - It is one of the original mile

05:27 - markers of the Susquehanna and

05:30 - Waterford Turnpike, which is now

05:33 - route 322 formerly called the

05:35 - twenty eighth division highway

05:37 - also known as the lakes to sea

05:39 - highway.

05:40 - Also in Clarion County we have

05:42 - Cook Forest State Park located

05:45 - in a northern section of the

05:46 - county.

05:47 - It's eight thousand five hundred

05:48 - acres.

05:49 - It's the largest stand of virgin

05:51 - white pine east of the

05:53 - Mississippi River.

05:54 - Some of the trees are from the

05:56 - 1600s.

05:58 - First land acquisition and

05:59 - preserve nature.

06:01 - It also includes the 184 foot

06:03 - tall Longfellow pine the tallest

06:05 - tree north of the Smoky

06:07 - Mountains in eastern United

06:08 - States.

06:10 - In 2017.

06:11 - Close to a half a million

06:12 - visitors visited Cook Forest

06:14 - State Park. In 2018.

06:17 - Cook Forest was named Park of

06:19 - the year by PA Parks and Forest

06:21 - Foundation.

06:22 - Please stop by and visit Cook

06:24 - Forest State Park. Clarion

06:26 - County has five sites on the

06:28 - Registry of Historic Places.

06:31 - The Foxburg Country Club in

06:32 - Foxburg, PA. It's the oldest

06:35 - golf course in continuous use in

06:37 - the United States.

06:38 - The courthouse, which we are

06:39 - currently standing in and the

06:41 - jail behind it are also

06:42 - registered on a national

06:44 - registry.

06:45 - The Sutton-Ditz Historical

06:47 - Society house across the square

06:48 - from the courthouse and the

06:50 - Buchannan furnace which is an

06:52 - old iron ore furnace still

06:53 - standing today.

06:55 - Ok.

06:55 - In the early days of Clarion

06:57 - County the people were drawn to

06:59 - this area by the lumber

07:01 - industry, the coal industry, and

07:03 - the iron industry.

07:05 - At one point in time there were

07:07 - 31 iron furnaces in Clarion

07:09 - County and it was known as the

07:11 - Iron County.

07:13 - It produced more iron ore than

07:15 - most counties in western

07:16 - Pennsylvania.

07:18 - The first thing however that

07:19 - brought them to Clarion County

07:20 - was the lumber industry.

07:21 - The massive stems of virgin

07:23 - forest.

07:24 - They would cut, saw the lumber,

07:26 - put it under wraps that would

07:28 - dam up the creeks, put it onto

07:30 - the rafts, and then in the

07:31 - springtime they would blow the

07:32 - creeks up with dynamite the dams

07:34 - and then it would float down the

07:36 - Allegheny River to the city of

07:38 - Pittsburgh.

07:38 - They were sought after. These

07:40 - timber people floated their

07:41 - rafts down to Pittsburgh.

07:43 - They would walk back along the

07:44 - river to Clarion County. Also in

07:47 - the early days of Clarion County

07:48 - was the coal industry.

07:50 - As you can see from the displays

07:52 - many of the people made their

07:54 - living from digging coal out of

07:55 - the ground by hand.

07:57 - They would find the coal where

07:58 - it crops out of the hillside dig

08:01 - a tunnel in and before child

08:03 - labor laws.

08:04 - The children had to work in the

08:05 - mines also.

08:07 - This was a little child's hat

08:08 - for in the mines that they would

08:10 - attach a lantern to the hole in

08:11 - the front there.

08:12 - These are one of the lanterns

08:13 - that are right here.

08:15 - They also had oil lamps that

08:17 - they used and kneepads that they

08:19 - would wear on their knees

08:19 - because sometimes those mines

08:21 - would only be two to three foot

08:23 - high and they had to crawl on

08:25 - their hands and knees all day

08:26 - long to mine the coal.

08:27 - Also in Clarion kind of the oil

08:29 - industry was thriving and in the

08:31 - mid to late eighteen hundreds in

08:33 - 1867 in the town of and on the

08:37 - western edge of Clarion county

08:38 - Eben Crawford drilled an oil

08:40 - well. That oil well is currently

08:42 - still in production and it's the

08:44 - oldest oil well in the world

08:47 - that was drilled to its original

08:48 - depth and is still producing

08:50 - oil.

08:51 - It's located along Mineral

08:53 - Springs, which is the extreme

08:54 - western edge of Clarion County.

08:56 - Also in western Clarion county

08:58 - is Foxburg Country Club.

09:00 - It is the oldest golf course in

09:02 - the United States in continuous

09:03 - use.

09:04 - It was laid out in 1887 by

09:06 - Joseph Nicol Fox who had gone to

09:09 - Scotland to learn the game of

09:11 - rugby and he fell in love with

09:13 - the game of golf.

09:14 - So he came back to Foxburg and

09:17 - designed a golf course on the

09:18 - huge family estate, which is

09:21 - still in existence at the town

09:23 - of Foxburg.

09:24 - You can still play there with

09:26 - regular clubs, but also they

09:28 - have a tournament every year for

09:31 - golfers from around the world

09:32 - come to Foxburg and play with

09:34 - the Hickory golf clubs from the

09:36 - 1800s.

09:37 - As you can see the clubs are

09:40 - quite unique.

09:41 - This is one of the putters

09:42 - that's all wood. The wooden

09:43 - face, the wooden shaft, and

09:45 - that's how they put the ball.

09:47 - The faces of all the irons are

09:49 - smooth. There are no grooves on

09:51 - the faces so it's very difficult

09:53 - to play the game with those

09:55 - clubs.

09:56 - You can see some of the original

09:57 - landmarks are still there.

09:59 - This is the original water

10:00 - trough and pump that is shown in

10:04 - this picture from the eighteen

10:05 - hundreds.

10:06 - Ladies also enjoyed the game of

10:08 - golf.

10:08 - They were there the first

10:10 - country club was a little small

10:12 - wooden building in a grove oak

10:15 - trees that is still standing

10:18 - beside this watering trough.

10:21 - However they tore it down and

10:23 - purchased this club in the

10:25 - 1920s.

10:27 - It's still used today. It's a

10:28 - log structure three stories high

10:31 - and it's quite unique.

10:32 - So if you get the chance stopped

10:34 - by Foxburg, enjoy a round of

10:35 - golf, you can still use the

10:37 - Hickory clubs at the golf

10:38 - course. They have them there you

10:40 - can rent and use.

10:41 - Hi. I'm Wayne Brosius one of the

10:43 - Clarion County commissioners. In

10:44 - my second term as commissioner

10:46 - and currently we are inside the

10:49 - main court room or courtroom

10:50 - number one as it's known here in

10:51 - Clarion County. Clarion County's

10:54 - legal organization began

10:55 - September 1st, 1840. Clarion was

10:59 - first added to the 6th Judicial

11:02 - District, but soon moved to the

11:03 - 18th district where Judge

11:06 - Alexander McKim was the

11:07 - presiding judge.

11:09 - He had almost every office in

11:11 - his county including a

11:12 - commissioner, treasurer,

11:14 - sheriff, and justice of the

11:15 - peace.

11:16 - He started practicing law in

11:18 - 1828 after studying under one of

11:21 - the Venango County's first

11:22 - lawyers.

11:24 - Court was first held in November

11:26 - 1840 in a house occupied by A.

11:29 - H. Alexander. Clarion County's

11:32 - first court then had a pretty

11:34 - slow start through the winter.

11:37 - It almost came to a standstill

11:39 - at the beginning of 1841.

11:43 - The first criminal trial did not

11:44 - take place until May 4th, 1841

11:48 - when John Wilkes had charged

11:50 - Jacob Wilkes with malicious

11:53 - mischief for setting a fire

11:56 - destroying shingling, nails, a

11:58 - tin spoon, a cup, a plate, and

12:02 - two calico frocks.

12:04 - Jacob Wilkes was acquitted

12:07 - because he was determined to be

12:09 - insane at the time. From 1841

12:14 - until the completion of the

12:15 - courthouse in 1842 court was

12:19 - held in the upper section of the

12:21 - jail.

12:22 - In 1883 it was enacted that the

12:24 - 18th judicial district would

12:27 - consist of Clarion County with

12:29 - Jefferson County with one judge

12:31 - presiding over the region.

12:34 - Clarion's most renowned trial is

12:35 - that of Vincent Wojciech a 33

12:38 - year old Austrian who was

12:41 - convicted of murder and hanged

12:43 - amid some controversy.

12:45 - This trial is still the only one

12:47 - in Clarion County history to

12:49 - result in an execution.

12:52 - Local rumors say that it has

12:54 - caused the old jail which we

12:55 - still use as a 9 1 1 center and

12:58 - a storage facility to become

13:00 - haunted.

13:01 - Vincent Wojciech was convicted

13:03 - of stabbing his landlord Andrew

13:05 - Stuka on October the 8th 1909 in

13:09 - the town of Reimersberg.

13:11 - His trial began on March 1st,

13:12 - 1910 with Judge Harry Wilson

13:15 - presiding.

13:16 - Three days later the jury found

13:18 - him guilty of murder in the

13:19 - first degree.

13:21 - A month later Judge Wilson

13:22 - pronounced that Wojciech was

13:24 - sentenced to execution by

13:26 - hanging at the jail on June 1st,

13:30 - 1911.

13:31 - Wojciech was pronounced dead.

13:34 - Invitations to the hanging were

13:36 - highly valued at the time and

13:38 - many citizens were a little bit

13:40 - upset because they weren't

13:41 - invited.

13:42 - It's been reported by a witness

13:44 - that Miss Zoey Hymes a secretary

13:47 - in one of the offices at the

13:48 - courthouse is the one who pulled

13:50 - the cord that released the trap

13:53 - door.

13:54 - Our current president judge of

13:56 - Clarion County the Honorable

13:57 - Judge James Arnor is

13:59 - unfortunately unavailable for

14:01 - this filming but he extends his

14:03 - thanks to PCN for producing this

14:06 - program.

14:07 - Judge Arnor is currently in his

14:10 - 19th year in his position and

14:13 - he's honored to be serving here

14:14 - in his home county of Clarion.

14:17 - He is currently the only full

14:18 - time presiding judge.

14:20 - As Clarion County is one of the

14:22 - few remaining one judge counties

14:24 - in Pennsylvania, Judge Arnor

14:26 - handles all types of cases and

14:29 - our court is very busy with not

14:31 - only cases but with

14:34 - administrative responsibilities

14:36 - as well because of the high

14:37 - volume of cases we rely on part

14:40 - time senior judges from other

14:42 - counties to help manage the

14:43 - caseload.

14:45 - Like all courts throughout the

14:46 - commonwealth our court handles

14:49 - serious high profile cases, but

14:52 - it performs an equally important

14:55 - function on a daily basis

14:57 - resolving cases involving drug

14:59 - and alcohol addictions and

15:01 - mental health issues.

15:03 - These cases drive the court

15:05 - schedule in order to operate our

15:08 - court effectively.

15:09 - Adequate facilities are needed.

15:12 - We have a magnificent historic

15:14 - building but since it was

15:15 - constructed in the 1400's.

15:17 - Times have definitely changed.

15:19 - We are the commissioners and

15:20 - other interested parties are

15:22 - working with the court to

15:24 - renovate our facilities to meet

15:26 - these needs.

15:28 - However we need to preserve the

15:30 - dignity and the character of

15:32 - this very important building the

15:35 - courthouse with the lady tennis

15:37 - perched on the pinnacle and the

15:39 - large main court room with its

15:42 - beautiful woodwork and the

15:44 - unique wooden ceilings that we

15:46 - have here reflects the

15:47 - importance of the rule of law in

15:51 - our democratic society.

15:53 - It sends a message to people

15:55 - entering the building that our

15:56 - system of justice must be

15:58 - respected Clarion County's

16:01 - second smaller court room is

16:03 - located on the third floor of

16:06 - the courthouse and was recently

16:08 - renovated.

16:09 - Our county maintenance

16:10 - department did all of the work

16:12 - with the project taking about

16:14 - three weeks to complete the

16:16 - renovation included new framing

16:19 - dry wall paint new sealing

16:21 - hardwood oak trim and new

16:24 - handcrafted judge's bench.

16:27 - The renovation made this second

16:29 - court room more accessible and

16:32 - improved the acoustics and

16:33 - aesthetics of the room.

16:35 - Hello my name is Greg Mortimer

16:38 - and I've had the privilege of

16:39 - serving the residents of Clarion

16:41 - County over the past 31 years as

16:44 - their elected Clarion County

16:45 - Register and recorder.

16:47 - And today I have the pleasure of

16:50 - showcasing the first floor of

16:52 - our beautiful and historic

16:54 - Clarion County courthouse.

16:56 - When you first arrive at the

16:57 - front door of the Clarion County

16:59 - Courthouse and enter you will

17:01 - come across the front vestibule

17:03 - of the courthouse and one of the

17:05 - first things you will notice are

17:07 - the historical wall plaques on

17:10 - the wall here of the front

17:11 - vestibule and these wall plaques

17:15 - show that this courthouse was

17:16 - built in 1884 and 1885 and was

17:21 - actually the third Courthouse

17:22 - built in Clarion County.

17:24 - The first two were destroyed by

17:26 - fire.

17:27 - One in 1863 and one in 1882.

17:32 - This courthouse was built back

17:33 - in the 1882 at a cost of

17:35 - approximately one hundred twenty

17:38 - seven thousand dollars and is

17:40 - based on a variation of the

17:42 - Queen Anne style of

17:43 - architecture.

17:45 - One of the other interesting

17:46 - aspects about the front

17:48 - vestibule of the courthouse are

17:50 - the two spiral wooden staircases

17:52 - on each side of the vestibule.

17:55 - They run from the first floor of

17:57 - the courthouse to the third

17:58 - floor of the courthouse.

18:00 - And one oddity about the

18:01 - staircase is also is this side

18:04 - staircase has forty nine steps.

18:07 - The other side has 51 steps.

18:10 - We are now on the first floor of

18:12 - the Clarion County Courthouse.

18:14 - And as you can see it is lined

18:16 - by different county offices.

18:18 - Those include the Clarion County

18:20 - Register and Recorder's office.

18:22 - The Prothonotary clerk of

18:23 - court's office and the tax

18:25 - assessment and GIS mapping

18:27 - office. This actual floor

18:29 - corridor is 16 feet wide and is

18:32 - flanked by one and a half foot

18:34 - wide walls made of brick and

18:36 - stone.

18:37 - The 15 foot vaulted ceiling is

18:39 - comprised of steel and brick and

18:42 - as you can notice the doors are

18:44 - constructed of steel.

18:47 - This has been constructed in

18:48 - this manner in order to make

18:50 - this floor fireproof.

18:53 - Additionally the original

18:54 - ceramic encaustic tile floor is

18:57 - still intact and was laid by the

18:59 - star encaustic tile company out

19:02 - of Pittsburgh in the 1880s and

19:04 - caustic tile is the process of

19:07 - laying two or more colors of

19:08 - clay to make patterns in ceramic

19:11 - tiles.

19:12 - And as you can see when you

19:13 - enter the courthouse it makes

19:15 - quite a stunning appearance.

19:18 - We are now in the Clarion County

19:20 - Register and recorder's office

19:21 - and as I said before I've been

19:23 - administrator of this office for

19:25 - the past 31 years and from all

19:27 - the research I've done here in

19:29 - the office I believe it's always

19:31 - been located on the first floor

19:33 - of the courthouse at this

19:34 - location.

19:36 - And as you can see by this and

19:37 - take bookcase which we still

19:39 - utilized today there is a date

19:41 - of 1891 inscribed on it which is

19:45 - just shortly after this

19:46 - courthouse was built.

19:48 - There is an abundance of history

19:50 - housed in the Clarion County

19:52 - Register and recorder's office

19:54 - and that it is a chief

19:55 - repository for all land related

19:57 - records.

19:58 - Probate records and Orphans

20:00 - Court records for Clarion County

20:02 - since the county was formed in

20:04 - 1839.

20:06 - Here is the first plan of law.

20:09 - It's laid out in Clarion County.

20:11 - It is for the town of Clarion

20:13 - back in 1839 several area

20:16 - families deeded this property

20:18 - over to the Clarion County

20:20 - commissioners.

20:21 - They then subsequently laid out

20:23 - this property into lots and sold

20:25 - those lots off to area residents

20:27 - keeping the central part of the

20:30 - plan for building the Clarion

20:32 - County Courthouse.

20:33 - The old county jail which sets

20:35 - across the back alley from the

20:37 - courthouse today and the county

20:39 - square or a public park which

20:41 - sets across the Main Street or

20:43 - what is now route 322 from the

20:46 - courthouse.

20:48 - One other interesting aspect

20:50 - about this plan of law is lot

20:52 - number one which was sold off by

20:54 - the county commissioners which

20:55 - sits right across the sidestreet

20:58 - from the county courthouse.

21:00 - That law back in 1839 which was

21:03 - the vacant lot sold for a record

21:05 - price of five hundred sixty

21:07 - dollars.

21:08 - Today that would translate into

21:10 - a vacant lot that sold for a

21:13 - little over thirteen thousand

21:15 - dollars another interesting

21:18 - historical artifact located in

21:20 - the Clarion County Recorder's

21:22 - Office is the recently restored

21:25 - 1865 Pomeroy.

21:27 - Company wall map of Clarion

21:29 - County.

21:30 - The Pomeroy company was a

21:32 - publishing company out of the

21:34 - city of Philadelphia at that

21:36 - time.

21:37 - The map is an important link to

21:39 - Clarion County's past as it

21:41 - contains a lot of information on

21:43 - the early development of Clarion

21:46 - County including the original

21:48 - war numbers for large parcels of

21:50 - land that were sold off in the

21:51 - county by big land companies

21:54 - back in the 1800s.

21:56 - Also that the names of the

21:59 - landowners who owned land in

22:01 - certain boroughs and townships

22:03 - back in the eighteen hundreds

22:06 - and also some important

22:08 - information such as the early

22:10 - roads, railroads, iron furnaces,

22:13 - and business owners of the era.

22:15 - Additionally around the

22:17 - periphery or border of the map

22:19 - you'll see some of the major

22:21 - communities at that time.

22:22 - There are original layouts of

22:24 - those communities and they are

22:26 - still viable communities today.

22:28 - They include such boroughs as

22:30 - Clarion, new Bethlehem,

22:33 - Reimersburg, Callansburg,

22:35 - Strattanville, and Chippenvale

22:37 - as well as some of the other

22:38 - smaller villages.

22:39 - At that time we are now in the

22:43 - tax assessment and GIS mapping

22:46 - office as we end our tour of the

22:48 - first floor of the Clarion

22:49 - County Courthouse.

22:50 - And as we enter the office I

22:52 - just wanted to point out these

22:54 - decorative door hinges that are

22:56 - all found on the door here.

22:58 - These are the original hinges of

23:00 - the door and they're found

23:02 - throughout the courthouse and on

23:04 - different doors.

23:06 - This was formally until just a

23:08 - few years ago the Clarion County

23:10 - commissioner's office and

23:12 - another interesting point about

23:14 - this office are the original

23:17 - filing system that was built

23:19 - into the walls when the

23:20 - courthouse was built back in

23:21 - 1885.

23:23 - These powers are not only found

23:25 - in the former commissioner's

23:26 - office but also the Clarion

23:28 - County Register and recorder's

23:30 - office and the authoritarian

23:32 - Clerk of Courts office.

23:34 - And as you can see they are made

23:37 - of wood material.

23:40 - A lot of carpentry work went

23:41 - into these filing systems

23:43 - they're built right into the

23:45 - wall and just to demonstrate why

23:47 - I will pull one out and show you

23:51 - that we call them today the

23:52 - pigeon hole filing system and

23:55 - you can see that there are

23:56 - different records folded up into

24:00 - these files.

24:01 - Some of them are commissioners

24:03 - records such as proclamations,

24:06 - tax exonerations, bills paid,

24:09 - just different general business

24:12 - dealings of the county back in

24:15 - those days.

24:16 - And of course we use the

24:17 - different filing system today

24:18 - since we're computerized and

24:21 - have everything scanned.

24:22 - But this is something

24:23 - interesting the public always

24:24 - usually looks at when they come

24:26 - into the courthouse.

24:27 - It seems to fascinate them.

24:30 - I was glad to have this

24:32 - opportunity to display different

24:34 - items here on the first floor of

24:36 - the Clarion County Courthouse.

24:38 - I hope you enjoy the tour and

24:40 - please come and visit us

24:42 - sometime. Hello and welcome.

24:45 - My name is Ed Heasley.

24:46 - I am currently serving my first

24:48 - term as one of the three Clarion

24:50 - County Commissioners.

24:51 - I'm here to tell you about the

24:54 - Clarion County Veterans Memorial

24:55 - Park, which is located across

24:58 - the street from the courthouse

25:00 - and is filled with the monuments

25:02 - for those who have served in the

25:04 - armed forces from Clarion

25:06 - County. The park property was

25:08 - set aside for what was then

25:10 - referred to as the town square

25:14 - at the founding of the town of

25:16 - Clarion back in 1830 and 1840s

25:20 - era.

25:22 - The oldest monument in the park

25:23 - is a soldier's monument.

25:25 - It was built in 1896 in honor of

25:29 - residents who served in the

25:30 - Civil War from 1861 to 1865.

25:35 - This monument was the first of

25:36 - its kind to be constructed in

25:38 - Pennsylvania after new laws

25:40 - passed, which allowed the county

25:42 - commissioners at that time to

25:44 - use county funds for such

25:45 - purpose.

25:47 - Nearly 700 citizens signed a

25:49 - petition that was required to

25:51 - erect the monument to the

25:53 - soldiers monument. Stands 47

25:54 - feet high and has a base

25:56 - embedded ten feet on the ground.

25:59 - There are 4 6 foot tall statutes

26:02 - one on each side of the pillar

26:03 - which represents the four arms

26:05 - of service.

26:06 - At that time the infantry, the

26:10 - Calvary, artillery, and marine.

26:15 - Higher up are the badges of the

26:17 - 13 army corps that includes

26:19 - Soldiers from Clarion County

26:21 - which are carved around the

26:22 - pillar.

26:23 - Those corps include the 1st

26:25 - through 6th, the 10th, 11th,

26:28 - 14th, 18th, and 24th Potomac

26:32 - Calvary.

26:33 - Now I'm standing beside two of

26:34 - the two World War 1 cannons here

26:38 - at the Veterans Memorial Park

26:41 - along with the monument the

26:43 - adjutant general of Pennsylvania

26:45 - W.W. Greenland of Clarion. Gave

26:47 - his hometown a two pounder

26:48 - cannon to be displayed in the

26:50 - park. That Cannon was replaced

26:53 - about 75 years ago with two

26:55 - larger cannons from the World

26:57 - War One era one being a 45

27:01 - pounder four point seven inch

27:03 - gun capable of firing a 45 pound

27:06 - shell approximately 5.1 miles

27:10 - and the other a 60 pounder five

27:13 - inch gun capable of firing a 60

27:15 - pounds shell approximately eight

27:18 - point eight miles.

27:20 - Both now set in the memorial

27:21 - park. In the park there are

27:23 - several monuments honoring our

27:25 - veterans from Clarion County.

27:28 - In 1954 a monument for those who

27:31 - served in World War One was

27:33 - built in 1986.

27:36 - The Vietnam War Memorial was

27:38 - added to the park in 2001.

27:42 - The Korean War monument was

27:44 - installed and in the following

27:46 - year of 2002 a monument for the

27:49 - prisoners of war and those

27:51 - missing in action joined the

27:53 - other monuments in the park.

27:56 - The latest tribute to be added

27:57 - was a World War II Memorial,

28:00 - which was built in 2008.

28:03 - The park went through some

28:05 - renovation in 2003 with

28:08 - financial help from the state's

28:10 - Department of Community and

28:12 - Economic Development and

28:14 - donations from the Clarion VFW

28:18 - the American Legion and the

28:19 - Fraternal Order of Eagles.

28:22 - To all veterans thank you for

28:23 - your sacrifice, devotion, and

28:26 - our freedom. I'm standing here

28:30 - at the Sutton Deats House

28:31 - Historic House from the days

28:32 - gone by of Clarion county.

28:34 - It is the home of the Clarion

28:36 - County Historical Society which

28:38 - is one of the five on the

28:40 - National Registry of Historic

28:41 - Places.

28:42 - We want to express our thanks to

28:44 - the historical society for all

28:46 - the help that they have given

28:47 - the preparation of this video.

28:50 - Please stop by and visit all the

28:52 - artifacts and historical

28:53 - belongings of Clarion county

28:55 - from days gone by.

28:57 - On behalf of myself, Ted Therin,

28:58 - and Commissioner Wayne

28:59 - Broekhuizen, commissioner Ed

29:01 - Heasley, thank you for taking

29:03 - your time to see our beautiful

29:05 - courthouse.

29:05 - And please come back and see us

29:07 - anytime. We have a lot to offer

29:09 - in Clarion County.