Potter County Today

David Castano details the Statue of Justice history for Pennsylvania Cable Network.

A 30-minute program about Potter County history and interesting features for visitors that aired recently on the Pennsylvania Cable Network can now be viewed in its entirety on the county’s website, pottercountypa.net. A production crew from PCN spent two days in Coudersport earlier this summer filming local scenes and conducting interviews as part of PCN’s Historic Courthouses series. Major focus is on the Potter County Courthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, Historical Society President David Castano and Commissioner Paul Heimel, as hosts, made sure the program spotlighted stories and attractions that would be of interest to tourists. Filming took place in and around the courthouse, as well as nearby sections of Coudersport with interesting architecture or historical significance. The crew also filmed at the Potter County Historical Society Museum and the F.W. Gunzburger County Office Building.

“The producers were very interested in Potter County’s connections to crimefighter Eliot Ness, the infamous thieves known as the Brinks Gang, famous musician Ole Bull, and other local story lines,” Commissioner Heimel said. Castano, who was the narrator and tour guide, shared colorful stories about local history, including the public execution of wife-killer Joshua Jones – whose skull is on display at the museum – and the background on the establishment of the town square and construction of the 156-year-old courthouse. Among local familiar faces appearing in the program are Judge Stephen Minor, Tillie Masolotte, Ed Thompson, Alex Fish and Kim Schaar.

“We were pleased to hear from the crew that this was one of the most interesting shows PCN has worked on since the courthouse series began several years ago,” Heimel pointed out. “One of them said the biggest challenge was assessing the volume of material they collected to determine what would make the cut for a half-hour program.”