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Huntingdon borough

Court Called By Fife And Drum

Did you know? In Huntingdon's earliest court days there was no bell to ring. The county's 1937 sesqui-centennial souvenir book records that before a bell was afforded, the courts were called by the music of a fife and drum.

Lytle's 1876 county history fills in the scene. The first court house the county built stood in Third Street, between Penn and Allegheny, a substantial three-story brick building. Before a bell was placed on it, the custom was to escort the justices to the court house with the fife and drum, and suitors, jurors and witnesses were summoned to their duties by the same music.

Checked and confirmed. CONFIRMED 2026-10-30 against the sources listed: every factual sentence was tied to a verbatim passage and a script confirmed each passage is in its source. Where sources disagreed on a number, the number was left out.

Sources

  1. Souvenir Historical Book, Huntingdon County Sesqui-Centennial (1937)
  2. Milton Scott Lytle, History of Huntingdon County (1876)

Checked 2026-10-30 · County histories and primary sources, read in full

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Photographs from Huntingdon borough

Hunt Tower, Fifth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonHunt Tower, Fifth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa2736
Stone Creek Bridge II, South of Penn Street between First & Second Streets, HuntingdonStone Creek Bridge II, South of Penn Street between First & Second Streets, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa2738
Huntingdon Station, Fourth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonHuntingdon Station, Fourth & Allegheny Streets, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa2735
Cutting the Route 22 bypass near Smithfield, as Myer Souders describes itCutting the Route 22 bypass near Smithfield, as Myer Souders describes itShared by Myer Souders
A Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad engine on the turntable at Smithfield, taken between 1947 and 1949, as Myer Souders describes itA Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad engine on the turntable at Smithfield, taken between 1947 and 1949, as Myer Souders describes itShared by Myer Souders
1947 Tucker '48 Prototype, Huntingdon1947 Tucker '48 Prototype, HuntingdonLibrary of Congress · pa4156

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