Welcome to Chautauqua,
New York

History & Genealogy

Welcome to Chautauqua County, NY, History and Genealogy.  This is is a central point of entry to independent not-for-profit web sites with historical or genealogical content. Although independent, it is affiliated with The American History and Genealogy Project. To learn more about this group, click the link above.

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Chautauqua County

Chautauqua County, the southwestern county of the state, was formed from Genesee in 1808. The name is a corruption of the Indian word Ots-ha-ta-ka, which signifies a foggy place, and was applied to the country around the head of the Chatauque lake, even now famous for its fogs. Its greatest length N. and S. is 40, and greatest breadth E. and W. 36 miles; centrally distant from Albany, W.,
330, and from New York, by way of Cattskill, NW., 428 miles. The soil generally is strong clay loam, very productive of large crops of wheat~ barley, and corn; the last is however destroyed sometimes by the early frosts to which the country is subject. The plain upon the lake is highly fertile, and produces the finest fruits adapted to the climate. This county, though bordering on Lake Erie, is situated on the elevated ground known as the “Chatauque Ridge,” which divides the waters of the northern lakes from those of the Allegany river. This ridge is generally from 5 to 10 miles from the shore of Lake Erie, and elevated from 790 to 1400 feet above it. The general surface of the county, though hilly, is not mountainous, and the highest hills are arable to their summits, and frequently adorned with valuable farms. 

The soil along the shore of Lake Erie, from 1 to 4 miles wide, is a border of rich alluvion, and along the margin of the rivers. The upland is generally a moist loam. Grain is raised in considerable quantities, and the county is generally well adapted to grazing. Fruit, such as apples, pears, and plums, succeeds well. Chatauque lake is a fine sheet of water 16 miles long, and from 1 to 4 wide. Its elevation is 1,305 feet above the ocean, and it is navigated by steamboats. This county formed part of the Holland Land Company’s purchase; and wild lands were offered by them at $1 ,50 to $4 per acre; but a company from Batavia bought their interest in
the wild land of the county. More than three quarters of the county are yet unimproved. rrhe county is divided into 24 towns.  (Historical Collections of the State of New York, Past and Present, John Barber, Clark Albien & Co., 1851)