By Patricia Measer
A favorite family destination in Bemus Point in the Summer is The Lawson Boating and Heritage Center. Opened in 2012, this museum displays boats and water sports-related artifacts that each have a personal story tied to the region. The center is an educational 501c3 not-for-profit, membership driven organization whose passion is preserving, displaying, and presenting the boating history of Chautauqua Lake.
When you take a tour of The Lawson Center, you can find everything from Chris Craft boats made in Falconer to old rowing sculls from the early 1900s to rudders from the steamboat The City of Jamestown.
There is a seaplane hanging in one room, and tools and accessories like antique boat lanterns and fishing lures. Various displays are dedicated to specific subjects such ice fishing and steamboats. Kids’ activities include making a balloon-powered toy boat and “driving” a motorboat. Any child who completes a workbook of tasks around the museum becomes a Junior Mate and receives a certificate and patch.
In keeping with the educational focus of the museum, boating safety classes are offered, as well as history tours for fourth graders. NY State requires that local history be taught to all fourth-grade students. So, The Lawson Center offers a free program to school districts surrounding Chautauqua Lake, to help them meet that requirement. This program is a one-day introduction to the history of people and places in the area, historical steamboat era, lake ecology, and boating. The volunteer staff added some new instructional features to the museum for this season: Two smart screens provide information about displays in the museum, and QR codes are being added to individual items so that visitors can get more information on a sort of self-guided tour.
“We try to add or change out something every year,” says Dave Wesp, a volunteer at the museum who has been there since it opened. “We have a permanent collection but try to add new things to keep people coming back.” Dave says that the museum is popular because people love to learn how boats work and how they are made. Many come for nostalgic reasons, to see again the boats they remember from their youth. And visitors often stay for the view of the water and the incredible sunsets from the deck.
The building that houses the museum has quite a storied history, It was originally erected in the late 1800s. There was a house, a separate garage and a boat house on the property. David Lawson, Sr. purchased the property in 1918 and started The Lawson Boat and Engine Co. He serviced and stored automobiles at the street level and boats at the lake level. “Those old Model Ts wouldn’t start in cold weather, so Mr. Lawson stored them to keep them warm, so owners could start them up as needed,” explained Dave Wesp.
In 1930, Lawson formed L-S Aero Marine with Ralph Sheldon, Jr. as principal shareholders. In 1947, the garage on Lakeside Drive was razed and the-brick-and concrete-block-showroom was built (bricks made by Chautauqua Brick Co.). Retails sales grew and another location was opened in Fluvanna.
Dave Jr. and his sister Jean took over the business from their parents in 1971. Jean ran the Bemus Point store until 2000 and died in 2001. Dave Jr. continued to run the business, but by the early 2000s he decided it was time to sell the property. “Dave Jr. knew more about boat restoration and the history of the lake than anybody,” Dave Wesp said. “We didn’t want to lose that knowledge, so some of the members of the Chautauqua Lake Twin Tier Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society approached him with the idea to turn the place into a museum.” Wanting to keep his family legacy alive, Dave agreed and sold them the building for $1.
The group formed the 501c3 organization, and Dave Jr. became one of its charter members. Then the hard work began. The building had to be stripped down and updated in some places, to get it ready for the public. An all-volunteer workforce labored on the project for two years. They restored the hardwood floors, added new windows, insulation and wiring, and included radiant heating in the floors to provide more space. The old house next to the business had to be torn down, and gas tanks carefully removed from the ground.
When asked what the most unusual thing they found during renovation was, Dave Wesp explained that they found a model boat that had been sitting on a shelf for 90 years, untouched. One of the members took it home and restored the model, which is now on display.
The museum has three levels of showrooms, and a workshop in which members work on restoring old boats that have been donated. “We try to run each restored boat on the lake at least once, to make sure it works. That’s
fun!” says Dave Wesp. There are also boat slips that Members can use when visiting Bemus Point for the day. The upper showroom has mobile photo displays cases that can be moved around to open up the room for events. You can rent The Lawson Center for special events like weddings and graduation parties. In fact that revenue, along with memberships keeps this gem alive.
Dave Lawson Jr. passed away last November, and a memorial will be held for him at the museum on May 28, and it will be open to the public. “It was such a great loss, both physically and in knowledge,” says Dave Wesp. “I don’t know what we’ll do without him.”
The Lawson Center is open for tours during the Summer, starting Memorial Day weekend. Between then and the end of June, they will be open Saturdays 10am to 5pm, and Sundays 1pm to 5pm. In July and August, they will also be open on Wednesdays from 1pm to 5pm. The Lawson Center is looking for more volunteers to be docents and help facilitate a visitor’s experience. Interested parties do not need to know a lot about boats, but at least have some working knowledge of the museum and a passion for sharing history. Call Maureen Stahley if you would like to help, at 716-397-3479. You can also visit their website, www.thelawsoncenter.org.