page_title: Ridgway, Pennsylvania
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ridgway, Pennsylvania / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Ridgway is named for the Philadelphia shipping merchant, Jacob Ridgway (b. 1768 - d. 1843).
context_page_description: Ridgway is a borough in and the county seat of Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,078.
context_section_description: Ridgway was founded by Philadelphian shipping merchant Jacob Ridgway and James Gillis. Jacob Ridgway earned substantial wealth both in Philadelphia and abroad in London. He constantly sent sums of money back to be invested in property. In the early 19th century as part of a larger land purchase, Ridgway acquired 40,000 acres (160 km²) that became Elk County. One of Jacob Ridgway's nephews, James Gillis, convinced Ridgway that the area could become a very lucrative spot for a lumber camp due to the proximity of Elk Creek and the Clarion River, a tributary of the Allegheny River. Coal and natural gas abound in the district. In the past, the industrial interests were manufacturing leather, iron, clay, and lumber products, silk goods, railroad snow plows, dynamos, and machine tools. In 1900, the people living here numbered 3,515; in 1910, 5,408; in 1940, 6,253, and in 2010, 4,078.
  Many historic structures are located within the boundaries of the Ridgway Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The O.B. Grant House and Ridgway Armory are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  The lumber industry continued to flourish in Ridgway, to the degree that around the start of the 20th century, the town claimed it had more millionaires per capita than any other town in the U.S.
caption: Ridgway is named for the Philadelphia shipping merchant, Jacob Ridgway.
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