(Seal of Chautauqua County displayed at the New York World's Fair 1939-1940.)
Research by Norman Carlson, Chautauqua County Historian
The following is a collection of notable historical events that occurred in Chautauqua County and the surrounding region on these dates throughout history.
March 30
1851 - Ellington Academy organized.
1883 - Chautauqua Institution chartered as a formal university (until 1902).
1900 - First issue of the Jamestown Furniture Index (industry periodical).
1939 - Jamestown Boys' Club opened its doors.
1959 - WNED-TV, public television, Buffalo, went on the air.
1998 - Lakewood post office moved from Summit Avenue to Fairmount Avenue.
March 31
1848 - Niagara Falls ran dry because of an ice dam.
1947 - Burtis Bay (bathing beach) deed presented to the city of Jamestown. Sold to the Town of Ellicott in 1972. Developed by Jamestown Jaycees for a bathing beach but could not be used because of pollution.
1959 - Art Metal shareholders voted to move the company executive offices from Jamestown to New York City.
1961 - "Last Western Union telegram by Morse wire in Western New York" received in Cherry Creek.
1993 - Dunkirk Walmart opened.
2005 - Discovery of chronic wasting disease in New York State announced. Prion disease of wild deer.
April 1
1797 - Paul Busti arrived in the U.S. (Philadelphia). Holland Land Company executive.
1809 - First settlement in the Town of Charlotte.
1828 - Cherry Valley Land Company (Morse, Beardsley, and Stewart) bought remaining Holland Land Company holdings in parts of Chautauqua County.
1847 - Blockville Post Office established.
1864 - Steamship Maple Leaf sank in St. John's River, Florida, carrying gear and equipment of the 112th N.Y. Infantry (Chautauqua County unit).
1874 - Lakewood became a railroad stop and acquired a telegraph station.
1903 - Jamestown city government took possession of the water system from a private company.
1919 - Busti Village Improvement Society moved to place a flower bed in the triangle for the first time.
1925 - Busti District #11 two-room brick school opened. Stands today as an apartment building.
1938 - 300 Bibles dedicated by The Gideons for Jamestown Public Schools.
1968 - Hotel operations ceased at the Hotel Jamestown. Now a home for the elderly.
1975 - Frewsburg Rest Home opened. Former Zion Covenant Home. Another home for the elderly.
1984 - Second Lake Room opened at Fenton Museum.
April 2
1886 - Jamestown changed from village to city, 5 PM.
1887 - Closing concert for a music school at Busti.
1898 - Robert G. Ingersoll, famous atheist, lectured in Jamestown.
1900 - Lakewood Ice Company's ice houses burned at Burtis Bay.
1900 - Basket makers of Dunkirk organized.
April 3
1897 - Telephone company in Jamestown decided to put its wires underground.
April 4
1849 - Forestville incorporated. It dissolved back into the Town of Hanover on December 31, 2016.
1850 - Telegraph office in Jamestown opened.
1864 - Cheese factory in Busti raised.
1913 - Fred D. Warren, leading socialist, spoke at Institute Hall, Jamestown.
1930 - Bemus Point High School formally opened.
1946 - Tule Lodge 127, Order of Vasa, moved from Nordic Temple to 208 Pine St., Jamestown. Now meets at Falcon's Nest in Falconer.
1950 - Jamestown Telephone Company bought Central Chautauqua Telephone Company in Sinclairville.
1971 - Hillcrest Baptist Church, Jamestown, dedicated. (Organized July 20, 1884, as First Swedish Baptist.)
2005 - Buffalo Community Bank, first local branch office opened in downtown Jamestown.
April 5
1928 - C.H. Martin of Fredonia reported the find of diamond-like gems.
1971 - Lakewood Library joined Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System.
