On Monday, May 26, 1932 fire destroyed most of the Beaver County Courthouse. It had been constructed from 1876-77 and was dedicated on May 1, 1877.
At about 9:15 a.m. a workman, Otto Edmonds, was removing paint on the southwest corner of the roof at the base of the clock tower roof. He used a blowtorch - a common method of paint removal. Flames from the blowtorch apparently spurted through a crack in the metal roof and ignited dry timbers under the roof. Possibly the accumulation of dry birds' nests over the years in the cornices and ledges of the superstructure enabled the flames to spread more quickly. Flames spread under the roof to the east side, into the tower, and both the front and rear staircases. The clock tower, 100 feet high, collapsed less than two hours after the blaze began. County officials, clerks, court employees and volunteers meanwhile carried records and movable furniture from the threatened offices, stacked them on the lawn, and took them to nearby apartments and the County jail for safekeeping. The efforts of seven fire companies saved the new portion of the Courthouse, but flames and water from the houses damaged the older portion beyond repair. The fire destroyed the Controller's, Sheriff's, Clerk of Courts' and Treasurer's Offices, several smaller offices and both courtrooms. Smoke and water caused slight damage to the records.
The fire temporarily suspended court business, but by 1:00 p.m. the same day it was business as usual for Prothonotary Daniel D. Boyd. At a small desk in the undamaged Commissioner's offices, Deputy Prothonotary James McLaren filed and docketed notes, judgments and other papers. By then repairmen had re-established telephone service. Carpenters began to construct a jury box, witness stand and judge's bench in the large jury rooms in the undamaged portion of the Courthouse. Space limitations required the judges to temporarily exclude from the courtrooms all visitors other than those with business before the court. Two days after the fire, judge Frank E. Reader took guilty pleas in the law library and jailed two men. (The Beaver County Times duly noted that one of the convicts was "colored.") Understandable confusion and congestion plagued the Court's procedures, but by May 30, the entire Courthouse functioned reasonably well. During the more extensive repairs after the fire the judges used the auditorium of the United Presbyterian Church of Beaver as a courtroom.
Construction on a new Courthouse soon began. No major mishaps plagued it until another Black Monday, September 11, 1972. Shortly after 1:30 a.m., a terrific explosion shattered part of the Courthouse. An alert night watchman, Joseph R. Hardy, had noticed a suspicious object near the Prothonotary's office. Minutes later the object exploded. Massive damage exceeding $700,000.00 closed the Courthouse for two days. Within several weeks law enforcement officials captured those responsible for the explosion, all hailing from Weirton, West Virginia. They had planted the bomb to destroy records of crimes they had committed in Center Township. Unfortunately, not only did the conspirators fail to destroy the records, they had bombed the wrong office: the Clerk of Courts, not the Prothonotary, handles criminal records. The Royal Canadian Police in Hamilton, Ontario apprehended two of the conspirators; American law enforcement officials captured the remaining three. The Court eventually convicted all five of various crimes arising out of the incident; four received sentences from five to twelve years but one, Robert Samaras, turned state's evidence and received only three and a half to twelve years.
Within two years, increasing demands for office space led to major Courthouse expansion. On June 9, 1974, justice Samuel Roberts of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dedicated a new wing of the Courthouse. At the time of this writing the new wing houses, among other offices, Domestic Relations, the Commissioner's Offices, the Election Bureau, Register of Wills, Sheriff, four courtrooms, the judge's chambers, the law library and the Court Administrator. Construction will soon begin on yet another wing located behind the present new wing. At this writing blueprints are incomplete. However, it is anticipated that the new wing will house a new courtroom, the Clerk of Courts, the Domestic Relations Division and other offices.