Two acres of land for the first Elk County Courthouse had been reserved during the Survey of 1833 as a town public square. The first courthouse was of wood frame construction and was completed in May 1845, most likely near the present courthouse. The Courthouse served as Elk County’s seat of justice for thirty-four years, by which time it was severely overburdened by the region’s growth. In early 1879, Commissioners Michael Weidert of Jones Township, W.H. Osterhout of Ridgway, and George Reuscher of St. Mary’s inspected the courthouses at Clarion, Warren, Tionesta, and Franklin, and decided the recently built courthouse at Warren, PA would suit their needs. They hired its architect and builder, J.P. Marston, to guide Elk County’s new Victorian courthouse. It was finished in 1880.
In April 1879, the old courthouse was sold at an auction to Hugh McGeehin who moved it down Main Street and it became a part of the Bogert House, a hotel owned by McGeehin and P.F. Bogert. When a new Bogert House was built in 1906, the dining room was part of the former courtroom. Tragically the Bogert House was consumed by fire on January 28, 1990.
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