(Seal of Chautauqua County displayed at the New York World's Fair 1939-1940.)
Research by Norman Carlson, Chautauqua County Historian
This week in Chautauqua County’s rich history includes remarkable events ranging from early steamboats and powerful speeches to notable hospital milestones, cultural firsts, and even a wedding at home plate. Explore these stories that capture the spirit and evolution of our community.
July 6
1875 – The May Martin, the only steamboat to run directly to downtown Jamestown and named for a local Busti girl, completed its trial run.
1907 – William Jennings Bryan, famed orator and politician, spoke at Chautauqua.
1917 – The Chautauqua County Agricultural Society was organized to oversee county fairs; this was the fifth such organization.
1932 – A tablet honoring Paul Busti, Agent General of the Holland Land Company in North America, was unveiled in Buffalo.
1968 – WCFV-FM, the Fredonia college radio station, began broadcasting.
July 7
1804 – Paul Busti became a U.S. citizen.
1849 – The first Jamestown-bound shipment of postage stamps departed Washington, D.C., including 1,300 five-cent and 700 ten-cent stamps.
1898 – The Celoron Colored Giants baseball team disbanded during their inaugural season.
1909 – Jamestown’s local branch of the State Direct Primary Association was formed.
1924 – Speeding fines in Jamestown were increased to one dollar.
1956 – A Navy AD6 Skyraider crashed in Chautauqua Lake.
July 8
1881 – A young woman nearly drowned after being trapped by a turtle in Chautauqua Lake.
1911 – Jamestown General Hospital received its first patient.
July 9
1864 – Dan Rice’s circus performed in Brooklyn Square, Jamestown; a famous early photo of a circus camp was taken.
1872 – A six-foot, 120-pound mystery fish—largest ever recorded—was caught in Chautauqua Lake.
1887 – WCA, the first hospital in Chautauqua County, opened in Jamestown.
1898 – Midway Park officially opened.
1903 – The Waldemere Hotel in Lakewood was destroyed by fire.
1989 – Snow fell in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania.
July 10
1829 – Jamestown purchased its first fire engine.
1833 – Chautauqua County’s first homeopathic physician immigrated to New York City from Germany; homeopathy later declined but has seen a revival today.
1927 – Jamestown hosted the State Spanish American War Veterans’ Convention from July 10 to 13.
1945 – Umpire Charles Ross Badger and Lucy Fanny Hubbard married at home plate of the Jamestown Municipal Stadium, now known as Russell E. Diethrick, Jr. Stadium.
1961 – Shea’s Movie Theater in Jamestown closed.
1979 – The Busti Historical Society purchased a barn and property that became its museum.
1999 – The Lincoln/Biddell statue was unveiled in Westfield.
2001 – The Cherry Street Parking Ramp in Jamestown closed; it had opened January 18, 1995.
2006 – St. Susan’s Kitchen relocated from St. James Church into the Chautauqua Hardware building in Jamestown.
July 11
1836 – President Andrew Jackson’s Specie Circular ended speculative booms, destroying real estate bubbles at Dunkirk and Van Buren Point.
1876 – The Jamestown Fish Culturalists Company opened their grounds to the public.
1898 – The American Photographers’ Association convened in Celoron.
1914 – The first official “Chautauqua County Day” was celebrated at Chautauqua Institution.
1915 – The cornerstone was laid for Pilgrim Memorial Church in Jamestown.
1933 – Lucille Ball signed her first Hollywood contract.
1946 – Jamestown General Hospital received its first "iron lung," a respirator donated by the Jamestown Moose Lodge, to aid polio patients.
1969 – Jamestown’s second Cherry Street Parking Ramp officially opened.
1970 – Lakewood Library moved to its current building.
1985 – Patrick Osmer, a Lakewood-born astronomer, spoke at Chautauqua Institution.
1994 – Jamestown FM repeater WUBJ went on the air.
1998 – A granite monument honoring Bret and Brian Smith was dedicated at Smith Field in Westfield.
2004 – Glidden Avenue School in West Ellicott was demolished; it was built in 1924.
July 12
1856 – Frewsburg defeated Ellington 21 to 1 in an early recorded baseball game.
1869 – The steamboat A. R. Trew burned in Jamestown.
1887 – The Jamestown Club was founded under the name G.E.C.; the meaning of the acronym remains unknown.
1930 – Bird I. Bowen found a wedding ring lost by his mother 28 years earlier in Ashville.
1948 – Tex Ritter, famed singing cowboy and father of actor John Ritter, appeared at the Palace Theater in Jamestown.
1953 – Fluoride treatment of schoolchildren’s teeth began in Jamestown.
1959 – The first jet airplane landed at Jamestown Airport.
1963 – Jamestown’s bathing beach at Burtis Bay was closed due to pollution concerns.
1992 – A tornado struck Fredonia in the evening.
2016 – Tom Morgan’s final broadcast of Money Talk aired on WJTN.
