Two weeks ago my daughter and I were at Chautauqua on a lovely Saturday morning and she asked me if there was anything special that I wanted to do that afternoon. For once I had an immediate answer – “Let’s ride the ferry to Bemus Point and have lunch there!”. The result was yet another enjoyable experience.
Chautauqua Lake is about eighteen miles long and two miles wide at its widest point, running in a general northwest to southeast direction. About halfway down its length, it narrows down to about one thousand feet, at a spot known, appropriately, as the “Narrows”. On the west side is the tiny community of Stow; the peninsula on the east side is Bemus Point. If there ever was a perfect spot for a ferry, this is it. By road, the distance from Stow to Bemus Point is well over twenty miles, regardless of whether you go north through Mayville or south through Jamestown. Before a major bridge was built across the Narrows in 1982 to accommodate Interstate I-86, the “Southern Tier Expressway”, the ferry provided a welcome alternative. In 1986 it was acquired by a non-profit organization (the Chautauqua Lake Historic Vessels Company) and currently is operated by volunteers on summer weekends.
The ferry itself is quite simple – a flat hull sixty-six feet long and thirty-four feet wide with tiny pilothouses at each of her four corners. She relies on a pair of six foot diameter paddlewheels, one on each side, for propulsion and runs at about one hundred and forty feet a minute (about 1.4 knots). The paddlewheels are driven hydraulically by a seventy-six horsepower Cummins Diesel engine. A wire rope cable on each side of the hull running through sheaves provides guidance. The deck is large enough to hold nine normal vehicles and has a capacity rating of ten tons. The ferry’s crew consists of three persons, at least one of whom is a licensed marine pilot. His/her responsibilities are limited to ensuring that the passengers are safely aboard and starting the engine. The other crew members are “Ambassadors”, volunteers responsible for providing passengers with information on operation of the ferry, on history of the ferry, and on “things to do” in Chautauqua County.
The first ferry was a raft operated by Thomas Bemus, son of William Bemus, the owner of the property on both sides of the Narrows. It was propelled by pulling on a manila rope stretched across the strait. His permit for providing this service included tolls of six and a half cents for a person, eighteen and three quarters cents for a person on a horse, and thirty-seven and a half cents for a wagon with horse or oxen, between March 1 and December 1. During the winter the toll could be increased by one third if the ferry were able to operate. As technology advanced, the rope was run through a system of pulleys driven by a foot-operated treadle.
Various combinations of local residents operated the ferry for its first twelve decades; old newspaper clippings record their history. In 1884 Albertus Rappole and his heirs were granted rights to operate the ferry “across Chautauqua Lake from Bemus Point to a point in the town of Harmony”. Two years later W. W. Ball and W. H. Urmson of Harmony and Jotham Bemus of Bemus Point acquired the charter and announced their plans to build a new boat and acquire a new cable.
In 1909 the ferry was a catamaran thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide with narrow hulls on each side. It was propelled by a steam engine driving a drum which lifted a single cable up from the bottom of the lake and pulled the boat across the lake “as if a man were pulling himself across hand over hand”. In 1921 Alton and Nora Ball, of Stow, and George Rappole of Bemus Point formally incorporated “the Bemus Point-Stow Ferry” for $20,000 to finance improvements on both sides of the lake to facilitate the rapidly growing automobile traffic.
In 1943 Chautauqua County purchased the ferry from the Alton Ball family for $15,000 and operated it as part of their highway department. By 1949 the ferry was paying its own way. Tolls were a nickel per person, livestock a dime a head, cars a quarter apiece, and trucks between thirty-five cents and a dollar. That year it carried 80,305 vehicles and 9,208 passengers and brought in about $20,000. By 1966 it was moving 110,000 vehicles and 18,000 passengers in its 212-day season. During the winter the ferry was pulled out of the lake and maintained on marine ways in Stow.
The construction of the I-86 bridge ended the ferry’s existence as a commercial venture. Fortunately, a group of private citizens led by John and Betty Cheney formed the Chautauqua Lake Historic Vessels Company, acquired rights for operation of the ferry, overcome numerous obstacles, and have continued to run it as a tourist attraction on summer weekends. This year it runs from Noon till 9:00 pm every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from Memorial Day through September. The service is free, although donations are gratefully accepted
A number of factors (the weather, the scenery, and the company) combined to make this an extremely memorable experience. Perhaps most significant was its historical aspect – people have been operating this ferry off and on since 1811! The current ferry flies a fifteen star flag in honor of its origin. It has evolved from a basic necessity to an impressive tourist attraction. I am intrigued with its development from wooden raft to catamaran to steel hull, and from a person pulling on a manila rope to a pair of paddlewheels driven hydraulically. The experience was enhanced by the courtesy of the pilot and ambassadors, volunteers who do this for the joy of it. How can a world filled with good folks like them be as chaotic as ours is?