Schuylkill County is named for the Schuylkill River which is named for the Dutch word meaning “hidden river”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Northumberland County, Columbia County and Luzerne County
E – Carbon County and Lehigh County
S – Berks County
W – Lebanon County and Dauphin County
Created: March 1, 1811 
County Seat:
Orwigsburg 1811 – 1850
Pottsville 1850 – present
County Courthouse – Pottsville
Location: 401 North Second Street / Sanderson Street
Built: 1891 – 1892
Style: Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival
Architect: Milton Earl Beebe of Buffalo, New York
Contractor: R B Taylor of Butler.
Description: The building faces southeast and is a five story Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival style structure. The building faces south and was completed in 1893. The building is located on a hill overlooking the center of Pottsville. The building is constructed with Cleveland (Ohio) sandstone and has a central projecting section with entrance and large fanlight on the first story. At the roof line is a pediment. The corner sections project and rise to white colored spires. There are dormers along the hipped roof. On the center of the roof is a large square tower with large clock at the top.The building houses the County Court of Common Pleas of the 17th Judicial District. An addition was constructed in 1933. The architect was Eric Fisher Wood. On the north side is the old stone County Jail.
See: The architect, Milton Earl Beebe of Buffalo, New York, also designed courthouses in Minnesota in Hubbard County and in Pennsylvania in Cambria County, Huntingdon County and Warren County.
History: The county was created in 1811 and Orwigsburg was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story brick structure built in 1815 at a cost of $5,000. The county seat was moved to Pottsville in 1850. The second courthouse was built in 1850 to 1851 at a cost of $30,000. The courthouse was demolished when the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1892 to 1893 at a cost of $320,000.
County Courthouse – Pottsville
Old County Jail – Pottsville
Photos taken 2015
Images 20