428 AUTHENTIC HISTORY 



unfitness of the old county buildings and of the necessity of a new Court House, made 

 presentments to that effect to the Court, and the Commissioners of the county, appre- 

 ciating the wants of the people, and imbuetl with a commendable spirit of enterprise, 

 immediately made arrangements to carry out the views of their constituents as expressed 

 by the grand juries. This day's ceremony indicates the progress of the design, and 

 when this building shall have been finished, with the elegance which its own impor- 

 tance and the condition of the county seem to demand, it will stand for ages as a proud 

 monument of the skill of the Architect who designed it, and of the public spirit of the 

 Commissioners who caused it to be erected." 



The present Court House stands on the northwest corner of East King and Duke 

 streets. It is a massive, solid structure, 164 feet in length, 72 feet in breadth and two 

 stories in height. The basement is built of plain sandstone and the super-structure of 

 brick, the surface of which is covered with mastic. Tlie building is strengthened and 

 ornamented in the front, rear and middle portion of the east wall, and the roof par- 

 tially supported by pillars resting upon buttresses. From the central portion of the 

 roof rises a cupola, in which is a clock with four faces. A statue of Justice is placed 

 upon the summit of the cupola. 



The building is entered from East King street by a flight of stone steps. The first 

 floor is divided longitudinally and transversely by wide arched passages, paved with 

 colored tiles, along which are arranged the various offices of the officers of the county. 

 The second floor is occupied principally by the Court room — 83 feet in length, 66 feet 

 in breadth and 25 feet in height, with frescoed walls and ceiling. The Judges' bench 

 is placed at the north end. In front of the bench, a portion of the room is raised and 

 enclosed for the use of juries and officers of the court. The remainder of the room is 

 filled with seats for witnesses and spectators. Adjoiiung the Court Room is the room 

 occupied by the Law Library. The Library consists of a large collection of standard 

 professional text-books and books of reports of cases determined by the superior courts 

 of the different States, and is sustained by members of the bar, composing an associa- 

 tion for that purpose. 



The original cost of the Court House, in its completed condition, including furni- 

 ture and the price of the ground on which it is erected, was $166,000. It was fully 

 occupied by the county officers with the records of their offices on September 7, 1854, 

 and the first regular term of Coui-t — being a Court of Quarter Sessions — was opened No- 

 vember 20, 1854. 



The Prothonotary, Register, Treasurer, Sheriff, Recorder, Clerks of the Court of 

 Quarter Sessions and Orphans' Court, and Commissioners are i-equired, by law, to keep 

 their respective offices at the seat of justice of the County. All the said officers are 

 elected by the qualified voters of the County — the Treasurer biennially and the remain- 

 der of them triennially. With the exception of the Commissioners, they must give 

 bonds to the Commonwealth, with adequate surety, for the faithful perfonnance of 

 the duties of their several offices. The Prothonotary, Register, Recorder, Sheriff and 

 Clerks of the Quarter Sessions and Orphans' Court, are compensated by fees fixed 

 by law. The Treasurer receive.s a salary. The Commissioners are allowed com- 

 pensation for each day and mileage, while engaged in the performance of the duties of 

 their office. 



The Prothonotary is the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and has the custody of 

 its records and seal. He keeps a docket for the entry of Judgments, records election 

 returns and transmits copies of the same to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. 



The Register records and files all wills produced under the i^rovisions of the Act of 

 Assembly. He has jurisdiction of the probate of wills and testaments, of the granting 

 of letters testamentary and administration, and of the passing and filing of the accounts 

 of executors and administrators. 



The Recorder provides books of record and records therein all deeds of conveyance 



