00:02 - Pennsylvania is home to some of

00:03 - the most beautiful courthouses

00:05 - in America.

00:07 - It's rare when politics art and

00:09 - law meet at the front door but

00:11 - it happens in the Keystone

00:12 - State.

00:13 - For more than 125 years the

00:16 - County Commissioners Association

00:17 - of Pennsylvania has carried the

00:19 - legacy Pennsylvania's historic

00:22 - courthouses.

00:26 - Hello.

00:28 - I'm Commissioner Chairman

00:30 - Vincent A Vicites from Fayette

00:32 - County and this is Commissioner

00:34 - Dave Lohr from Fayette County

00:36 - and Commissioner Angela

00:37 - Zimmerlink from Fayette County.

00:40 - And I'm proud to be standing in

00:41 - front of the Fayette County

00:43 - Courthouse.

00:45 - One of the most historic

00:46 - courthouses in Pennsylvania in

00:48 - the United States with its rich

00:52 - Richardson Romanesque

00:54 - architecture.

00:56 - It's the centerpiece of our

00:58 - County for our history.

01:02 - We have great history in Fayette

01:04 - County.

01:05 - We have the National Road which

01:07 - was their first road in America

01:10 - and we have very beautiful

01:13 - countryside and wonderful

01:16 - mountains and historic tourism

01:19 - sites that are world class.

01:21 - So our county courthouse is a

01:23 - major part of that tourism

01:26 - effort and we're very honored

01:29 - and very lucky to have such a

01:31 - beautiful courthouse.

01:33 - Hi I'm Fayette County

01:34 - commissioner Dave Lohr.

01:36 - I just wanted to come back to

01:37 - you in just mention about our

01:39 - business as my fellow

01:40 - commissioner already mentioned

01:41 - about some of our tourist areas

01:42 - and things of that nature that

01:44 - just lets you know our location

01:45 - in Fayette County.

01:46 - For anyone looking for a place

01:47 - to come build a business live

01:50 - grow any way shape or form wear

01:53 - it.

01:54 - When you look at our location we

01:55 - sit between Pittsburgh and

01:57 - Washington D.C. Baltimore.

01:59 - We are the direct route.

02:00 - It's a great place for you to

02:01 - come and look at it to grow here

02:03 - and be a part of us on a

02:05 - permanent scale not just

02:06 - visitation but on a permanent

02:07 - scale.

02:08 - We have a great educational

02:10 - opportunity here we have Penn

02:12 - State campus is just a short

02:14 - distance from here.

02:16 - We're only a short distance from

02:17 - West Virginia University not

02:18 - counting our tech industries in

02:20 - the different areas that we

02:21 - actually can serve people.

02:23 - So this is a great place for any

02:24 - companies or anyone come to us

02:26 - to move to and to build here.

02:28 - Then on our historical side the

02:30 - one thing that always attracts

02:31 - me is a George Washington

02:32 - footprint that has been left

02:33 - here.

02:34 - We have Fort Necessity.

02:35 - We have Kentuck Knob.

02:37 - We have all the different cities

02:38 - and the one area in particular

02:40 - that we a lot of people miss is

02:42 - Perryopolis the way Perryopolis

02:43 - is laid out is from George

02:44 - Washington himself.

02:46 - So with all that in mind we have

02:48 - so much to offer it to anyone

02:50 - who wants to come here as a

02:51 - visit for a vacation or for a

02:53 - perm this side of it to live

02:55 - here forever.

02:56 - We really appreciate you come to

02:58 - visit our county and to be a

02:59 - part of us at one time or

03:00 - another.

03:01 - Thank you very much.

03:02 - Hello.

03:03 - I am Fayette County Commissioner

03:04 - Angela Zimmerlink.

03:05 - Welcome to Fayette County with

03:07 - its many historic and

03:08 - recreational amenities.

03:10 - From America's first national

03:11 - road to our Fort Necessity

03:14 - National Battlefield.

03:16 - And then also to our largest

03:18 - caves here in Pennsylvania as

03:20 - well as Ohiopyle our largest

03:22 - state park in Pennsylvania.

03:25 - Today we're here to showcase our

03:26 - beautiful Fayette County

03:27 - courthouse.

03:28 - So what I want you to do is sit

03:30 - back listen and enjoy.

03:32 - See you on the other side.

03:34 - Hello everyone.

03:35 - My name is Laura Bowden and on

03:36 - behalf of the Fayette County

03:37 - Cultural Trust.

03:38 - I'd like to welcome you to

03:40 - downtown New Newtown historic

03:42 - business district and our

03:43 - beautiful Fayette County

03:45 - Courthouse.

03:46 - I'll be your host today along

03:47 - with the Honorable Judge left.

03:49 - Conan And Barbara Pasquale from

03:51 - the law library prior to that

03:54 - even during the American

03:55 - Revolution this part of the

03:57 - country was considered the edge

03:58 - of the Western civilization.

04:01 - All legal proceedings at that

04:03 - time were held in the district

04:04 - courts of West Augusta in nearby

04:07 - Washington County.

04:10 - During that same time Henry

04:12 - Beatson who was a Quaker and a

04:13 - descendant of English immigrants

04:16 - settled in what is now

04:18 - Uniontown.

04:19 - He and his wife Mary settled

04:20 - here had 13 children and the

04:23 - town of Beatsontown grew up

04:24 - around them because of the

04:26 - area's hilly terrain.

04:27 - One of the two streets and

04:29 - Beatsontown had a severe angle

04:31 - to it.

04:32 - The shape of it and a triangular

04:35 - plot which Henry Beatson put

04:37 - aside for common public ground.

04:39 - Later on he would sell that plot

04:41 - to the county for the

04:42 - construction warehouse for the

04:44 - price of six pence.

04:46 - He also threw in two lots to

04:47 - make the area even larger.

04:49 - The new town was officially

04:51 - founded on July 4th 1776 and the

04:54 - dispute between Pennsylvania and

04:55 - Virginia over the border was

04:57 - settled in 1780.

05:00 - In 1783 Fayette was carved out

05:02 - of the southern part of

05:03 - Westmoreland County just as the

05:05 - revolution ended.

05:07 - Our county was named after the

05:08 - young French war hero the

05:09 - Marquis de Lafayette and

05:11 - Uniontown was named as the

05:13 - county seat.

05:15 - The first courts in fact were

05:17 - held on December 1783 and a log

05:20 - schoolhouse right on the site.

05:22 - The first courthouse was built

05:24 - in 1796 it was a two story brick

05:27 - building and two years later two

05:29 - detached wings were added for

05:30 - county offices following a fire

05:33 - in 1845.

05:34 - A new courthouse was constructed

05:36 - and opened in 1847.

05:39 - The graceful Greek Revival style

05:40 - featured Ionic columns across

05:42 - the front and octagonal belfry

05:44 - and a large four faced town

05:46 - clock and the statue of the

05:47 - Marquis de Lafayette sat atop

05:49 - its spire.

05:50 - After a period of growth growth

05:52 - in population and prosperity it

05:54 - was decided in a larger

05:55 - courthouse was needed and

05:57 - architects Butts and Kaufman of

05:59 - Pittsburgh recontacted to design

06:00 - the new courthouse for our

06:03 - current courthouse is the third

06:04 - to occupy the same site and over

06:06 - two centuries built with the

06:09 - best of everything mood that

06:10 - reflected the pride and

06:11 - prosperity of a time.

06:13 - The commissioner selected the

06:15 - town's construction firm of

06:16 - Lockhead Arafat and company for

06:19 - the construction of a

06:20 - courthouse.

06:21 - All of the materials used in the

06:22 - construction of the courthouse

06:23 - originated right here in Fayette

06:25 - County.

06:26 - Over 3000 cubic yards of stone

06:28 - mined here all of the oak wood

06:30 - that was used for the doorways

06:32 - and the banisters was grown

06:34 - right here in the county.

06:35 - All of the Iryn used for the

06:37 - ironwork along the banisters and

06:40 - for support beams were milled

06:42 - right here in the county.

06:43 - And over one million five

06:45 - hundred thousand bricks were

06:46 - produced right here in Fayette

06:48 - County.

06:49 - All of the laborers used by the

06:50 - construction company were also

06:52 - county residents while large

06:54 - expenditure at the time.

06:55 - By selecting a local contractor

06:57 - that meant that all of the funds

06:58 - used to build the courthouse

07:00 - were also pumped right back into

07:01 - the local economy.

07:03 - The exteriors space with gray

07:04 - sandstone and some of the

07:06 - features include the paired

07:07 - arched windows with transom as

07:10 - the large cavernous doorway that

07:11 - features its original doors and

07:13 - a 188 foot clock tower that

07:16 - hangs on the clock tower are

07:17 - made out of poplar wood and are

07:19 - three and a half feet long.

07:21 - An outstanding example of

07:23 - Richard Foundry and Romanesque

07:24 - architecture at the time it was

07:27 - built.

07:27 - It costs two hundred thirty

07:28 - thousand five hundred dollars to

07:30 - construct which is millions in

07:33 - today's market.

07:35 - The cornerstone of the

07:36 - courthouse was laid on June 1st

07:38 - 1891 and a time capsule

07:40 - containing documents and

07:41 - photographs is still encased

07:42 - inside.

07:44 - The construction work was

07:45 - completed in 1892 and the first

07:47 - court session was held on

07:49 - February 21st of that year.

07:51 - The Civil War cannon that graces

07:53 - the front lawn of a courthouse

07:55 - was acquired from the Pittsburgh

07:56 - arsenal and was fired well into

07:58 - the 20th century and celebration

08:00 - of civic ceremonies completed in

08:02 - 2007.

08:03 - The Fayette County firefighters

08:05 - memorial is dedicated to this

08:06 - firefighters who lost their

08:08 - lives during the line of duty.

08:10 - The earliest recorded fatality

08:12 - was in 1901 and the latest was

08:15 - in 2003.

08:16 - The memorial consists of the

08:18 - statue the plaque and the eight

08:20 - dedicated benches surrounding

08:21 - the memorial.

08:23 - And it's our hope that no

08:24 - additional names will ever have

08:25 - to be added to this memorial.

08:28 - The Uniontown World War Memorial

08:30 - was dedicated in 2006 and sits

08:32 - on the western end of the

08:33 - courthouse at the beginning of

08:35 - the war.

08:36 - Uniontown had 15000 residents

08:38 - and 3000 enlisted into the

08:40 - service.

08:41 - That's one in every five people

08:43 - that live inside the city limits

08:45 - or memorial here consists of

08:47 - three large black granite planks

08:50 - that are engraved with all the

08:51 - names of the men and women who

08:52 - served as well as dedicated

08:54 - paver bricks encased in 16

08:56 - panels along the walkway and 15

08:59 - dedicated granite benches here

09:02 - in the center lobby of the

09:03 - county courthouse and next to me

09:05 - is the eight foot two inch tall

09:07 - statue of the Marquis de

09:08 - Lafayette by artist David Bly.

09:11 - In order to make the statue the

09:14 - artist took two inch thick

09:15 - poplar planks and fastened

09:17 - together with wooden dowels.

09:19 - He then carved the statue of the

09:20 - Marquis.

09:21 - You'll notice it's an older

09:23 - version of the Marquis and how

09:25 - he would have appeared in his

09:26 - 1825 visit to the county.

09:29 - The statue stood atop our second

09:31 - courthouse for forty years and

09:33 - then it was taken down and put

09:34 - into storage while the new

09:36 - courthouse was being built.

09:38 - It was then taken out of storage

09:39 - in 1847 and spent some time on

09:41 - the front lawn.

09:43 - In 1986 the statue was moved

09:46 - back to the center lobby here

09:48 - and rededicated directly above

09:51 - the statue of the Marquis.

09:52 - You'll notice the beautiful

09:53 - stained glass dome.

09:54 - In 1992 the Bryant brothers of

09:56 - Columbus Ohio were hired to make

09:59 - some additional improvements to

10:00 - the courthouse and the glass

10:02 - dome was added to the rotunda.

10:04 - It was covered for a number of

10:06 - years by wooden planks and in

10:08 - 2003 it was finally uncovered

10:10 - and restored and opened for

10:12 - permanent public view.

10:14 - For the first time in 101 years

10:16 - since its installation in

10:19 - addition to the beautiful

10:20 - stained glass dome during the

10:21 - improvements the Bryant brothers

10:23 - contracted with Columbus artist

10:25 - Alice Schily to add a series of

10:27 - mural to the rotunda.

10:30 - The four panels depict

10:31 - agriculture manufacturing coal

10:33 - mining and Coke production.

10:36 - The four top industries for fair

10:37 - accounting at the time also in

10:41 - our center lobby.

10:42 - To my left you'll see a 19 star

10:45 - U.S. flag from 1885.

10:47 - This flag flew over the White

10:48 - Swan and during the general

10:50 - Lafayette's visit to Uniontown.

10:53 - When you enter the county

10:54 - building lobby you'll notice in

10:56 - a glass case the weights and

10:58 - measures these were used by the

11:00 - original weights and measures

11:01 - department of Fayette County and

11:03 - are now here to represent the

11:05 - scales of justice.

11:07 - The P.O.W. M.I.A. Memorial here

11:09 - in the county building lobby was

11:12 - placed here in 2016 by the

11:14 - County Chapter of Rolling

11:15 - Thunder.

11:16 - Hello I'm Barbara Pask was the

11:18 - Fayette County Law Library.

11:20 - And I want to welcome you.

11:23 - The library got its start in

11:24 - 1981 and we moved to our present

11:28 - location now in 1928.

11:31 - When we first started we only

11:33 - had 17 hundred books.

11:36 - Now we have seventeen thousand

11:38 - fourteen books and I counted

11:39 - each one.

11:40 - And people asked me how many

11:41 - books so that now I can answer

11:43 - their questions.

11:45 - We average about fifty seven

11:47 - hundred people in the law

11:49 - library every year.

11:51 - Male attorneys are number one

11:53 - category followed by public

11:56 - women coming in for divorce and

11:58 - child custody.

12:00 - The Fayette County law library

12:02 - has many aspects.

12:03 - One being the artist program and

12:06 - we call it Artist of the Month.

12:08 - It got started.

12:09 - I started this back in 2007.

12:12 - We were having a meeting and I

12:14 - wanted something different.

12:16 - And the president judge told me

12:19 - I could have an art display.

12:22 - Well we had so many people

12:24 - applying for that.

12:26 - We just decided to give

12:28 - everybody a fair share.

12:30 - We would start a monthly artist

12:32 - program.

12:33 - And we've been doing this now 11

12:35 - years.

12:37 - I am booked every month until

12:39 - May 2020 with local artist this

12:44 - artist as you can see is the

12:46 - potter.

12:48 - She is also a local artist and

12:51 - president of Uniontown Art Club.

12:54 - Some of the artists of the month

12:56 - have left behind some of their

12:58 - art work for the library.

13:01 - And behind me you will find a

13:02 - sculpture by Dan Bertold who has

13:06 - done four dances and the first

13:08 - one is Watusi ballet ballroom

13:12 - and tango.

13:14 - And over here we have a stained

13:18 - glass by Bob do like we have had

13:23 - all kinds of artist here.

13:25 - We've had stone sculptures

13:27 - basket weavers of wood carvers

13:31 - diaper cakes Minecraft and why I

13:37 - never turned anyone down.

13:39 - My youngest is 8.

13:41 - My oldest was 98 and the reason

13:46 - I turned no one down is because

13:48 - the I don't know who's going to

13:49 - be the next Grandma Moses or

13:51 - Andy Warhol.

13:54 - Hello.

13:55 - My name is Steve.

13:56 - I'm a judge here in Fayette

13:57 - County Pennsylvania.

13:59 - We're here at the Fayette County

14:00 - Courthouse in Uniontown and

14:03 - we're in courtroom number one

14:04 - which is vintage 1895.

14:08 - One of the most magnificent

14:10 - courtrooms in western

14:11 - Pennsylvania and in fact it's as

14:13 - nice a courtroom as I've seen in

14:14 - my travels around Pennsylvania.

14:16 - There's a nice one I haven't

14:17 - seen yet and would like to court

14:21 - room.

14:21 - One is a large room

14:23 - approximately 50 by 50 holds

14:25 - hundreds of people some of the

14:27 - most high profile trials we've

14:29 - ever had have been held in this

14:30 - courtroom.

14:32 - This is the third courthouse

14:34 - we've had in Fayette County.

14:36 - To my knowledge was construction

14:39 - was started in the early 1990s

14:41 - as a photograph of the exterior

14:42 - from 1892 I believe it was first

14:45 - occupied in 1895.

14:48 - One of the portraits on the wall

14:49 - in this courtroom is Judge

14:50 - Nathaniel Ewing the second judge

14:52 - Nathaniel Ewing and he is

14:54 - credited in his biography with

14:57 - arranging for the construction

14:59 - of the courthouse and the

15:02 - beautiful new prison at same

15:04 - time.

15:07 - He was present judge from 1887

15:10 - to 1898 and I'm not sure if it's

15:13 - coincidental or not.

15:14 - When he ran for reelection in

15:16 - 1898 he was defeated.

15:19 - We also have some other

15:21 - beautiful portraits hanging

15:22 - around the courtroom.

15:24 - The county's namesake General

15:27 - Lafayette who served with George

15:30 - Washington in the Revolutionary

15:32 - War and in fact is one of the

15:34 - key figures because without

15:35 - France and the weapons the

15:37 - soldiers and the Navy that they

15:39 - furnished the result of the

15:42 - Revolutionary War would very

15:43 - much have been in doubt.

15:45 - But General Lafayette was

15:47 - honored by the county being

15:48 - named for him.

15:49 - And the portrait of Lafayette

15:51 - over my right shoulder was

15:53 - donated by H.C. Frik famous from

15:57 - U.S. Steel and Coal mining

15:59 - magnate at the time it was

16:01 - donated in 1908 and it shows the

16:05 - marquis as a young man as he

16:07 - would have appeared when he was

16:10 - a general in the Revolutionary

16:12 - War.

16:12 - He actually visited Fayette

16:14 - County in 1825 as an older man I

16:18 - believe age 68.

16:20 - He was invited here by his

16:21 - friend Albert Gallatin who

16:23 - maintains a home maintained a

16:25 - home and counting on his

16:27 - friendship hill that's still

16:29 - open as a national park at this

16:30 - time and there's a statue

16:33 - downstairs carved in wood in

16:36 - 1847 by David Blight that

16:39 - depicts how he had appeared at

16:41 - that age much older much less

16:44 - ostentatious as a survivor not

16:47 - only of the American Revolution

16:48 - but of the French Revolution

16:50 - where his noble status was lost.

16:53 - The other portrait that we have

16:54 - is over my left shoulder and

16:55 - that's George Washington as a

16:59 - colonel in the Virginia regiment

17:02 - that that painting's recent it

17:04 - was painted by a professor at

17:07 - Penn State.

17:08 - Yet by the end Patrick Daugherty

17:10 - is very faithful very

17:13 - exceptionally well done

17:14 - reproduction of a Charles Wilson

17:16 - Peale.

17:17 - Portrait of George Washington.

17:19 - In fact it's the first portrait

17:22 - ever done of George Washington.

17:23 - It was commissioned by Martha

17:24 - Washington and if you look at

17:27 - the portrait it shows Washington

17:30 - in a very youthful appearance in

17:33 - a very bright colored red and

17:34 - blue uniform.

17:36 - That was the uniform that he

17:37 - wore as a colonel in the

17:39 - Virginia militia when he visited

17:41 - Fayette County as an emissary of

17:43 - Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia

17:45 - in 1753 as the commander of the

17:51 - forces that basically started

17:53 - the French and Indian War and

17:54 - Jumonville Glenn.

17:55 - Here in Fayette County 1754 and

17:57 - when he returned with major

17:59 - general Braddock in an effort to

18:01 - oust the French from the Valley

18:03 - the Ohio.

18:04 - And a camp out here in Fayette

18:05 - County everyone's used to the

18:08 - old photo of George Washington

18:10 - similar to the portrait that you

18:12 - see of Washington on the dollar

18:13 - bill.

18:14 - This portrait portrays him as a

18:15 - young man a vigorous man and

18:17 - more like he would have appeared

18:19 - when he took command of the

18:20 - Revolutionary War forces in July

18:23 - of 1775 and ultimately led our

18:27 - forces to victory in that war.

18:30 - So this painting's very

18:31 - significant very proud to have

18:32 - it.

18:33 - Washington has a lot of other

18:34 - significant connections with

18:36 - Fayette County and in fact he

18:38 - was awarded land here in Fayette

18:40 - County 1,600 acres near present

18:42 - day Parieopolis where there is a

18:45 - risk mill that was built by

18:48 - Washington and his partner

18:51 - Gilbert Simpson.

18:53 - And Washington wanted to see

18:54 - Parieopolis become a very

18:56 - thriving metropolis.

18:58 - It never took off to the extent

18:59 - that he wanted it to and

19:01 - ultimately when he came to

19:04 - Fayette County in 1884 he had a

19:06 - number of errands he was going

19:07 - to run.

19:08 - One of them was he wanted to

19:10 - sell or find a new tenant for

19:12 - the property and Parieopolis

19:15 - that was unsuccessful he ended

19:16 - up staying in business with

19:18 - Gilbert Simpson.

19:19 - He also wanted to defend his

19:20 - title to property in Washington

19:24 - County called the Millers Run

19:25 - property that was awarded to one

19:28 - of his friends from for their

19:30 - service in the French and Indian

19:31 - War, James Posey.

19:33 - Washington ultimately as a

19:35 - favorite of Mr.

19:36 - Posey purchased his title for

19:38 - that came out here to defend it.

19:41 - He hired an attorney in

19:42 - Uniontown when he traveled here

19:44 - in 1884 by the name of Tom Smith

19:46 - who was the leading expert on

19:47 - titles on the trans Appalachian

19:49 - property.

19:51 - There was a jury trial.

19:52 - The jury trial took place in the

19:54 - city of Washington named after

19:55 - Washington because in 1784 he

19:57 - was the leading citizen not only

19:59 - of the colonies but also of the

20:01 - world because of his

20:02 - accomplishments in the

20:03 - Revolutionary War in the county

20:05 - of Washington.

20:06 - And you can only imagine how

20:07 - fair and impartial jury would

20:09 - have been faced with the title

20:11 - claim of the most important hero

20:14 - of the Revolutionary War the

20:17 - most famous man of his time.

20:19 - Suffice it to say that all 13

20:21 - cases were resolved in general

20:22 - Washington's favor and they

20:24 - defended the title of property

20:27 - which has been passed down from

20:29 - Washington's title to this day.

20:31 - I'm very fond of courtroom one I

20:33 - began practicing law in Fayette

20:35 - County as a clerk to our former

20:38 - president Judge Conrad Fouzi.

20:40 - And this was the courtroom where

20:41 - all the big deal cases were

20:42 - handled.

20:44 - The bench as you can see is wide

20:45 - enough for five chairs and that

20:47 - allows up to five judges to sit

20:49 - at the top at a time.

20:51 - And in those days that 1978 when

20:54 - I started we had arguments en

20:57 - banc which meant that all of the

20:58 - judges would come down and sit

21:00 - and hear arguments on individual

21:01 - cases and as law clerks we'd sit

21:03 - in the front row and watch the

21:05 - arguments.

21:06 - And it really added some dignity

21:07 - to the scene.

21:09 - The courtroom is just as it was

21:10 - built in 1895.

21:12 - The furnishings are as near as I

21:14 - can tell historically original

21:17 - and the wood, the marble, the

21:23 - canvas walls, the vaulted

21:24 - ceiling is just a magnificent

21:26 - place to be able to work and I

21:28 - feel very privileged to have

21:29 - been involved in it.

21:31 - Generally speaking I'm very

21:31 - proud to be able to preside in

21:33 - this courtroom because it is so

21:34 - beautiful so historic and now

21:38 - just adds great solemnity and

21:40 - dignity to the matters that we

21:42 - conduct in this courtroom.

21:45 - One of the unique features when

21:46 - the Fayette County courthouse

21:47 - was built in the 1890s was that

21:50 - the prison and the courthouse

21:51 - were built at the same time and

21:54 - they were integrated together

21:55 - using a stone arch bridge that

21:57 - allowed the prisoners from the

21:59 - prison to be brought over for

22:00 - court proceedings without having

22:01 - to go outside.

22:03 - The bridge is called The Bridge

22:04 - of Sighs because naturally

22:05 - enough that's where prisoners

22:07 - who are convicted at trial cross

22:08 - over into the prison and

22:10 - naturally would give a sigh.

22:13 - Here is the Bridge of Sighs and

22:16 - when that door slams behind you

22:18 - it's not a good thing.

22:21 - I'd like to welcome you at this

22:22 - time to courtroom three of the

22:24 - Fayette County Courthouse.

22:26 - The second wing of the Fayette

22:27 - County courthouse was built in

22:28 - the early thirties and courtroom

22:30 - 3 is one of the two courtrooms

22:31 - built in the new section of the

22:34 - courthouse.

22:35 - And as you can see it's also

22:37 - beautiful courtroom mahogany

22:39 - panel walls and vaulted

22:42 - ceilings.

22:43 - I had the privilege of presiding

22:44 - in this courtroom for 13 years

22:46 - from January 2002 until 2014.

22:52 - And as much as courtroom 1 is

22:55 - one of the premier courtrooms in

22:56 - western Pennsylvania.

22:57 - This courtroom is really a

23:00 - wonderful place to be able to

23:02 - work and preside.

23:05 - One little detail our jury box

23:07 - over here had to be expanded a

23:09 - few years back because jurors

23:10 - today are bigger than jurors

23:11 - were in 1932 and they just they

23:13 - just couldn't fit.

23:14 - So we had to add about a foot to

23:16 - the depth of it so that jurors

23:18 - had leg room.

23:20 - My favorite part of the

23:21 - courtroom is the portrait that

23:23 - hangs over the bench which shows

23:27 - George Washington and the pile

23:29 - of painting is Washington and

23:30 - Dorchester Heights.

23:32 - This particular painting the

23:33 - original was done by Gilbert

23:35 - Stuart who is a famous portrait

23:37 - artist who's responsible for the

23:39 - portrait of George Washington

23:40 - that is used on the dollar bill.

23:42 - Stewart was very commercial guy.

23:44 - He actually had one portrait of

23:45 - Washington that he saved as an

23:47 - unfinished portrait so that he

23:48 - could make copies of it and sell

23:50 - them for about a $100 a piece

23:52 - which was a lot of money at that

23:53 - time.

23:54 - So there's an awful lot of

23:55 - Gilbert Stewart's portraits of

23:57 - Washington around.

23:59 - In the third floor gallery of

24:01 - the courthouse there's a number

24:03 - of historic artworks as well.

24:06 - The first black and white is

24:07 - Jeremiah Sullivan Black who went

24:11 - on to be attorney general of the

24:12 - United States.

24:13 - He was initially from Somerset

24:15 - County.

24:16 - The county immediately to

24:17 - Fayette county's east.

24:19 - The next painting on the wall on

24:21 - the third floor is John Kennedy

24:23 - Ewing live from 1823 to 1905 and

24:27 - he served as the President Judge

24:28 - of the Fayette County court from

24:31 - 1864 to 1866.

24:34 - Actually only a period of about

24:35 - 14 months.

24:37 - He's actually more important for

24:39 - who he was related to than for

24:41 - his own contribution as a judge.

24:43 - But he is the descendant of John

24:45 - Kennedy who was originally a

24:49 - visitor to Fayette County as a

24:51 - soldier to put down the Whiskey

24:53 - Rebellion.

24:55 - And when he saw the countryside

24:57 - of Fayette County he decided to

24:58 - stay here.

24:59 - He became a lawyer.

25:00 - Early in the 1790's and

25:02 - ultimately after serving as a

25:04 - judge in Fayette County he

25:06 - became Justice of the

25:08 - Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

25:10 - The sons of John Kennedy Ewing,

25:13 - Nathaniel Ewing Jr. and Samuel

25:17 - Ewing both served as judges in

25:19 - Fayette County.

25:21 - There's another portrait of

25:22 - Nathaniel Ewing right here on

25:24 - the third floor gallery.

25:26 - And again he's the judge that

25:28 - was responsible or is given

25:29 - credit for the construction of

25:31 - the courthouse and the jail in

25:32 - 1890.

25:35 - We're very fortunate to have

25:37 - such a beautiful courthouse in

25:38 - Fayette County with such

25:41 - wonderful Richardson

25:42 - architecture but that's just one

25:45 - of the many historic things

25:47 - about Fayette County.

25:49 - And what makes Fayette County

25:51 - great is its people and its

25:53 - sense of community.

25:55 - We have created a great

25:56 - community here where we will

25:59 - have a legacy for many many

26:00 - years to come and we'll build on

26:02 - our history.

26:04 - So come join us in Fayette

26:05 - County.

26:07 - Come visit and see what we have

26:08 - to offer.

26:10 - You're very much welcome.

26:12 - Thank you.

26:13 - One thing that we need to make

26:15 - sure everyone knows about our

26:16 - county about Fayette County are

26:18 - the people.

26:19 - The people in this county are

26:20 - phenomenal.

26:22 - We have some of the best people

26:23 - and maybe I'm a little biased

26:24 - but we have some of the best

26:25 - people in the Commonwealth of

26:27 - Pennsylvania here in these

26:28 - United States.

26:29 - I'm standing currently at the

26:30 - memorial of World War II

26:32 - Memorial.

26:32 - We are known for our service to

26:34 - our country.

26:35 - We have a lot of veterans in

26:37 - this country in this county in

26:38 - particular that that have

26:39 - served.

26:41 - They've paid the ultimate price.

26:43 - The families that have also paid

26:45 - that ultimate price and paid for

26:47 - the services that were rendered

26:48 - by their husbands and wives and

26:51 - mothers and daughters and the

26:53 - whole line.

26:54 - But I will tell you the one

26:55 - thing that we're very picky

26:57 - about our veterans.

26:58 - We have great people here and

26:59 - they are great people.

27:01 - We have memorials like this

27:02 - scattered throughout the whole

27:03 - county in my home area in south

27:05 - Connellsville.

27:06 - We have our own memorial.

27:07 - The city's every place have

27:09 - their memorials giving credit to

27:11 - the veterans that are that have

27:12 - served and are from our county.

27:15 - I'll just tell you that just

27:17 - this morning the county

27:18 - commissioner board voted for the

27:20 - county to become a Purple Heart

27:21 - county.

27:22 - As the city of Connellsville did

27:23 - here just a few weeks ago.

27:25 - If it were not for our veterans

27:26 - we couldn't be standing here

27:28 - under the American flag or

27:29 - anywhere else in our country and

27:32 - giving what our opinions or

27:34 - about anything going on.

27:36 - I just want to let everyone know

27:37 - in the Commonwealth of

27:38 - Pennsylvania the Fayette County

27:40 - serves you even outside of our

27:42 - county and I just want to say to

27:44 - all of our veterans and everyone

27:45 - that have served.

27:46 - Thank you very much.

27:47 - Come to our county.

27:49 - Visit us the people we have

27:51 - there over the tourist

27:52 - attractions.

27:53 - We have all of the things that

27:54 - we have out here but the people

27:56 - were the ones that you should

27:57 - come and see and visit.

27:58 - Thank you very much.

27:59 - Come see us.

28:02 - I hope you enjoyed watching this

28:03 - video.

28:03 - We're very proud of our Fayette

28:05 - County Courthouse with its

28:06 - architecture, its portraits, its

28:09 - history, its statues.

28:10 - We as Fayette county

28:11 - commissioners are charged with

28:13 - maintaining and preserving our

28:15 - Fayette county courthouse.

28:16 - We do this for you and we do it

28:18 - for future generations.

28:20 - Thank you for joining us and

28:21 - please come back and visit.