Elk

Formed April 18, 1843 (58^th county)

Elk County (30,984), Ridgway (4,038), Saint Marys (12,736)

The classic red brick Second Empire courthouse was erected in 1879 and remodeled and enlarged in 1970.  It is located in a square at Main, Broad, Center, and Court streets.  United States Highway 219 turns at the intersection next to the courthouse.  J. P. Marston was the courthouse designer.  Elk County was founded on April 18, 1843 from parts of Jefferson, Clearfield, and McKean counties as the 58^th county with Ridgway as the only county seat.  The county is named for the herds of elk in the area.  The county seat is named for landowners Jacob and John Ridgway. 

The area of the county is 832 square miles.  It is 21 out of 67 in the state.  It ranks 59 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 37.2 persons per square mile making it 61 out of 67 in the state.  Elk County has 61.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 219 passes north to south in the county from McKean County to Jefferson County. 

Elk County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  One Common Pleas Court Judge and Two Magistrate Court Judges serve Elk and Cameron counties.  The county is in the northwest part of Pennsylvania.  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is southwest and Erie, Pennsylvania is northwest of the county.  The county center is 10.7 miles East of Ridgway in Saint Marys.  The county is surrounded clockwise by McKean, Cameron, Clearfield, Jefferson, Forest, and Warren counties.  The county looks like a fat capital letter L with an added knob on the southwest.  Ridgway is located near the center of the county.  Saint Marys is on the eastern border of the county.  Ridgway is the county seat and St. Marys is the largest city.  Ridgway is 13.0% of the county population while Saint Marys is 41.1% of the county population.  This county is in the Saint Marys Micropolitan Statistical Area.