October has been filled with memorable experiences, the latest of which began with a short visit to Chautauqua. One afternoon I suggested to Beth that we go exploring, and, like the dutiful daughter she is, she quickly assented. The result was an enjoyable trip and a rewarding short course on transportation history for the past three centuries.
We began by driving to Mayville, a quaint village located at the north end of the lake, then directly toward Lake Erie on Route 394, “the Portage Road”. Aptly named, this road follows the route of a Native American portage dating back many centuries. Indians wanting to travel to the Ohio Country realized that Chautauqua Lake provided an easy passage via its outlet, the Chadakoin River, Conewango Creek, and eventually the Allegheny River at Warren, Pennsylvania. For the Erie Indians who lived in this area in the seventeenth century, it was a relatively easy task to make this portage carrying their birchbark canoes.
It is believed that in 1615 a French explorer, Etienne Brule, was the first European to use this portage. In 1749 an expedition led by Celeron de Bienville set out to establish France’s claim to the Ohio Country, following this route. Four years later the French invasion of the Ohio Country that precipitated the French and Indian War made ample use of the portage. As the years passed, Barcelona Harbor at the Lake Erie end of the portage prospered. The introduction of steamships to Lake Erie in 1818 and the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 brought additional prosperity to Barcelona. Recognizing the importance of navigation on the lakes, the Coast Guard authorized the construction of a series of lighthouses along the south shore of Lake Erie. In 1829 the one at Barcelona was built of fieldstone, with a light forty feet above its base. Initially it burnt oil for illumination; in 1831 it became the first lighthouse to burn natural gas, recovered from a natural well about two miles away.
In 1844 Pennsylvania completed the Beaver and Erie Canal, connecting Erie, Pennsylvania, with the Ohio River, providing an attractive alternative to the Chautauqua Portage. Business in the Barcelona Harbor dropped off dramatically, and in 1859 the lighthouse was decommissioned. It passed through numerous owners until 2007 when it was acquired by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to serve as the centerpiece of a very popular state park. I was particularly impressed with the museum at the visitor center and the displays celebrating the heritage of Lake Erie. One exhibit identified several dozen major shipwrecks on Lake Erie. The era of major steamship travel on the Great Lakes must have been exciting.
Our next stop was Dunkirk, about eighteen miles to the northeast along the lake front. Dunkirk became a prominent transportation hub in 1851 when the New York and Erie Railroad completed a main line (6’-0” broad gauge!) from Jersey City through the Southern tier counties of New York State, connecting to Dunkirk Harbor and a steamship line providing service to Detroit, Michigan. Eighty years later a different railroad brought my family there. My parents lived in Dunkirk from 1931 to 1934; I was born there in the summer of 1931. I have no memory of living there, but many memories of my parents’ recollections of their three years in Dunkirk. It too has an excellent harbor, partially protected by Point Gratiot. We drove out onto the pier, parked, and inspected the Boardwalk, a modest but neat collection of souvenir shops and eating/drinking establishments, including an Irish Pub.
At that time my father was serving as Supervisor, Maintenance of Way for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Not knowing specifics of his responsibilities, I have assumed that they covered a main line from Erie to Buffalo, with a small branch to Mayville on Lake Chautauqua. Once again, a little investigation showed how wrong I was. An 1882 railroad map clearly shows a line running from Buffalo along the south shore of Lake Erie to Brocton (a few miles west of Dunkirk) and then due south to Mayville, Sherman, and Panama, then across the state line into Pennsylvania to Corry. From there it continued south to Pittsburgh via Oil City. By the 1930s the portion of this line from Buffalo to Corry that had become the PRR Buffalo Division was his responsibility. Today the section from Brocton to Mayville is a well mapped rails-to-trails recreational trail; I am looking forward to exploring Chautauqua County’s back roads in the future to follow its route.
I then suggested we drive another eight miles up the lake shore to the village of Silver Creek. I distinctly remember my father telling me that this was the first place where you could see across the lake to Canada — a grain elevator in Port Colborne, Ontario, eighteen miles away. In Silver Creek we found a small lake-side park, located a bench, and stared due north across the lake. Eventually Beth reported that she could see something. She took a photograph aimed in the right direction; sure enough, enlarging it to 15X clearly shows the elevator.
Our drive back followed a different route, leaving the lakefront and ascending the Arkwright Hills. Eventually we passed through the village of Cassadaga, on the south shore of Cassadaga Lake. On its north shore is another hamlet, Lily Dale, that became famous a century ago as the center of the spiritualism movement. This notoriety survives at a reduced level today. This summer’s workshops featured Tarot Card reading, spoon bending, table tipping, and enhancement of extra sensory perception.
Safely back in Mayville in time to grocery shop for dinner, I found myself reflecting on one more rewarding October adventure and marveling at all the things I had learned. The transition from Indians in birchbark canoes to steamships on the lakes and long-distance railroads is a major part of Chautauqua County’s rich heritage.