Ridgway Heritage Council

The Ridgway Heritage Council is a volunteer-based non-profit corporation dedicated to downtown revitalization, focusing on historic preservation. Formed in 1997 in response to the continued deterioration of our Main Street and the closing of a major anchor store, the group is organized according to Main Street Program principles, incorporating design, marketing, organization, and economic restructuring elements. We are excited and energetic about the work we are doing, and are dedicated to retaining and improving the many special qualities of our beautiful and friendly hometown!

In recognition of our outstanding community development efforts since 1997, the Council has been awarded the following honors in 2004:

• The Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence
• A Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission Historic Preservation Award
• A Pennsylvania Downtown Center “Townie” Award for downtown redevelopment.

Thanks to its rich lumbering heritage, late nineteenth-century Ridgway had one of the highest per capita millionaire populations in the United States. By 1997, however, the once stately and busy Main Street was a dingy, depressing place with empty storefronts and dwindling businesses, leaving only a faded memory of that grander time.

Two residents and business owners, Dale Lauricella and Tim Leathers, formed the Ridgway Heritage Council (RHC) with the goal of using historic preservation as an economic development tool to revitalize their community. With the advice and assistance of Elk County planner Dan Freeburg and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, the RHC garnered financial support from the Borough of Ridgway and the Stackpole-Hall Foundation to provide matching facade improvement grants for Main Street buildings.

Over 95% of the property owners on Main Street have participated in the program. Downtown revitalization brought pride, enthusiasm, and excitement back to the residents of this small borough, and there is renewed interest from current and former residents in purchasing and restoring the grand homes of Ridgway’s neighborhoods.

In 2003, the Ridgway Historic District, including over seven hundred contributing buildings, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The successful revitalization of Ridgway stands as an example to all Pennsylvania communities that historic preservation is essential to securing a viable economic future.