The History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Schuylkill County was formed from parts of Berks, Northampton, and Northumberland counties arising from the need to allow easier and more effective access to the judicial process. Travel was a much greater hardship in 1811 than anything we face today.

By petition to the General Assembly inhabitants expressed their concerns over the great hardships of being so remote from the seat of justice and public offices.

In March of 1811 Governor Snyder approved an act designating a part of Berks and Northampton County into a New County named Schuylkill.

The Act provided that until a courthouse could be built all matters of court should be conducted at the house of Abraham Reiffsnyder, of McKeansburg in Brunswick Twp.

On December 11, 1811 the first court trial was held at Reiffsnyder’s Tavern with Judge Robert Porter, President Judge George Rausch and Associate Judge Daniel Yost presiding.

Asa Yarnell was brought to trial for assault and battery and was fined fifty cents. Asa’s father Issac Yarnell sat on the jury.

Frederick Hesser was the court crier. Hesser served as a drummer boy during the Revolutionary war and announced the assembling of the court by beating a drum under the court room window.

McKeansburg, Orwigsburg and Schuylkill Haven all sought the distinction of becoming the County Seat but the decision was made to locate the first county seat at Orwigsburg and in 1815 the first Schuylkill County Courthouse was built there at a cost of $5000.

The first courthouse was a simple building, two stories made of brick measuring forty feet by fifty feet. The court room was on the first floor and the jury room and public offices were located on the second floor.

Around 1831 opinions started to circulate that the courthouse and county seat should be moved to Pottsville again because of the inconvenience of travel to Orwigsburg. People in Orwigsburg were committed to keeping the county seat and courthouse in their borough.

Ten years later when the rail connection between Pottsville and Philadelphia was completed, Pottsville became the de facto center of commerce in the county.The Legislature responded to petitions from the public and on March 13, 1847 the act was approved designating Pottsville as the seat of justice for Schuylkill County.

The Act provided the issue be approved by the people at the next general election and included provisions that the construction of suitable buildings of brick or stone for use as a courthouse and public building be completed within 3 years or the county seat would remain in Orwigsburg.

The act also provided that a new jail should be built in Pottsville at the expense of the public.

The act passed by 459 votes 3,551 for and 3,092 against.

In October of 1849 construction began on the first Pottsville Courthouse.

Total cost of the structure was about $30,000 including a 1,623 pound bell and a town clock. The building was two stories high and measured 123 feet by 37 feet. It held a courtroom, four jury rooms, a consultation room, and a library.

Construction was completed in 1851 and in December of that year all records had been moved from Orwigsburg to Pottsville.

The first case heard in Pottsville on December 8, 1851 was presided over by President Judge Charles W. Hegins and was brought by Attorney William Lawton who prosecuted his wife Mary because “when Mary had a stick in her hand she couldn’t be trusted” The court ruled in favor of William and ordered Mary to pay court costs.

Rapid growth because of industrialization and the development of mineral resources soon caused Schuylkill County to out grow its second public courthouse.

On October 3, 1889 the cornerstone was laid for the third and current courthouse on the sight of the old courthouse grounds on “Pine Hill”.

This building is constructed entirely of Cleveland Limestone and designed in the Romanesque style of architecture. Its total cost was around $400,000 for a five story building that measured 195 feet by 100 feet. The interior was finished in natural red oak and at the time was considered inferior to none in the State except those in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Even today Courtroom N0.1 is the largest public seating capacity courtroom east of the Mississippi with the exception of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

Through the years our courthouse has undergone many changes and renovations. An annex was added in 1932 and in 1968 a juvenile detention center was constructed and later converted to office space. In 1987 a remodeling project added additional courtrooms and allocated more office space for the growing needs of the county.

Our Courthouse is still serving as Schuylkill County’s “Temple of Justice” as it was dubbed by Judge Oliver P. Bechtel at the dedication.