Calendar

  • February 1 -
    March 31

    Quilt Stories exhibit
    A Timeline of Quilting from the 1800s through the 1930s

  • April 17

    We Made Do: the Great Depression in Chautauqua County
    This exhibit will present an eye-opening perspective of the American economy and everyday life in our hometown during the 1930s and today.

  • June 14

    Red, White and Blue: Sharing Veterans Stories
    7 pm at the R. H. Jackson Center
    A roundtable discussion with a representative group of Veterans sharing their experiences and hometown connections. Audience participation is encouraged. WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East wars will be represented.

  • June 19

    Fenton Institute
    Walking Tour of Jamestown's Southside
    1-3 pm
    Explore the beauty and majesty of an era gone by in the south side neighborhoods near Forest Ave. Also learn about the early businesses and people who thrived there. Reservations are required. Free elective for Individual Level memberships (or higher), $10 for members or $15 non-members.

  • July 2010

    Spoon River Project
    Dates are still being determined.
    Be inspired and touched by the moving Spoon River Anthology in the beautiful setting of Lake View Cemetery. Support provided in part by the NYSCA Decentralization Program of Cattaraugus County.

  • July 26-30

    Camp Brown - A Call to Arms...Life as a Civil War recruit.
    Students in grades 4-6 will experience the life of a Civil War private preparing to march into history. Limited spaces, 1-4 pm each afternoon, please register early, $50 fee.

  • August 7

    Fenton's 6th Annual Old Fashioned Day
    9 am to 3 pm - Free admission to the festival and the museum. Experience our hometown's living history: try your hand at many of the "chores" our great-grandparents did everyday-for adults and children alike. Experience the "Make Do" attitude of the Great Depression. Fun, crafts & games for kids, a variety of food vendors, modern crafters, and much more!

  • August 16-20

    History Detectives Camp: Making Do in Jamestown 75 years Ago
    For grades 4-6. Discovery and learning come together as students uncover the life of Jamestown residents during the "other" Depression. Limited spaces, 1-4 pm each afternoon, please register early, $50 fee.

  • September 25

    Blue & Gray 2010 Civil War Encampment
    The 9th Cavalry is returning home! The community is invited to learn more about living during the Civil War from the soldiers and family members camping at the Fenton Mansion. Donations accepted.

  • October 2 & 9

    5th Annual "Saints and Sinners" Lake View Cemetery Tours
    From 3 pm until 8 pm at Lake View Cemetery, corner of Buffalo St. and Lakeview Ave., Jamestown.
    The tour will uncover some of the more than 43,000 personal stories at Jamestown's beautiful Lake View Cemetery. Guests are asked to wear comfortable shoes, dress for the weather, bring a flashlight for the later tours and to be ready to learn some interesting information about Jamestown and Lake View Cemetery. Presale: $8 for adults, $2 for children& youth; at the gate $10 for adults, $3 for children and youth, and half price for Fenton History Center members. Reservations are required; please call 664-6256 to reserve your tickets and time slot. Call early as the later tours fill up fast!

  • October 3 & 10

    Twilight Mausoleum Tours at Lake View Cemetery
    Get a behind the scenes tour of a number of the elegant mausoleums in Jamestown's 1859 cemetery. Light refreshments follow the tour. 8 PM. The cost is $15/single, $25 per couple. Youth and children are $5. Reservations are required; please call 664-6256 to reserve your tickets.

  • November 23

    31st Annual Holiday exhibit
    Members Only Sneak Preview 4-7 PM. New members welcome, join and see the exhibit for FREE.

  • November 26

    31st Annual Holiday exhibit
    opens to the public- through January 15, 2011.

  • December 4

    Fenton Family Day
    Start a family tradition - bring your family for crafts, cookies and fun! Discover your past at the Fenton History Center! Children are half price!

  • December 11

    Girls and Dolls Holiday Tea
    11:00 to 12:30 PM and 1:30 to 3:00 PM. A special holiday event for young ladies, their mothers, grandmothers, aunts and friends. The event includes tea, dessert, a craft and tour of the Fenton Mansion decked out in its seasonal finery. The cost is $15 per ticket. Space is limited. Reservations are required.

Links

Local History Research Collections in Chautauqua County
Reed Library Special Collections
SUNY College at Fredonia, NY 		The local history collection includes materials relating to Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties, especially U.S. census records (complete through 1840, then local only), NYS census for Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties, Senecat Indians and the Iroquois Census Project, county/local histories/directories, supervisor's reports, family history records, newspapers. The archives of the Holland Land Company offer insights into the settlement and development of Western New York. Copying is available.
Dunkirk Historical Museum
Dunkirk, NY 		Collections emphasize the history of Dunkirk; its schools, churches, government, business/industry, (especially the Brooks/ALCO locomotive works) and social organizations. These include family history materials, city directories, school yearbooks, local histories, diaries, photographs, and clipping files. Copying is available.
Darwin R. Barker Museum
Fredonia, NY 		Collections include the Fredonia Censor (1821-1964), US and NYS census records for Chautauqua County from 1850-1925, index to deaths and marriages in the Censor, cemetery records, photographs, manuscripts, many New England genealogies and resources. The library of the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society is also located here. Copying is available.
Chautauqua County Historical Society
Westfield, NY		 2000-volume holdings include: Clayburne Sampson Collection, Elial Foote Papers, Gerald Todd Papers, diaries, family historis, Civil War Muster Rolls by towns, school records, maps, photographs, cemetery transcriptions, and miscellaneous files of county. Copying is available.
Chautauqua County Genealogical Society
Fredonia, NY 		Individual dues are $9 per calendar year, and include The Chautuaqua Genealogist, published quarterly. Listings of researchers and current CCGS publications available on request - include SASE. The CCGS library is located at the Darwin R. Barker Museum.
Patterson Library
Westfield, NY 		Collections include the Westfield Republican from 1855 and other newspapers, state/county/local histories, Holland Land Company records, DAR lineage books, clipping and reference files, family histories, surname and obiturary files, county cemetery records, county census records, maps and atlases. Copying is available.
Chautauqua Institution Archives
Smith Memorial Library
Chautuaqua, NY		 Collections include various newspapers from 1876 to the present, scrapbooks, diaries, autograph books, oral history tapes, video and lecture tapes, photographs, dissertations, historic register of homes, and histories of other Chautauquas. Copying is available.
Chautauqua County Court House
Mayville, NY		 Chautauqua County records form 1811 to date. County Clerk's records include: land, naturalization, census (1825-1925), marriage (1908-1935), military discharge, DBA (business certificates), early court records and many unique maps. Finder's guide available. The Surrogate Clerk maintains wills & probate records. Copying is available.
Local History and Culture Links