Mayville, NY.
Saturday May 24, The Chautauqua Town Historical Society is hosting an open house, 1pm- 5pm, at the Mayville Depot Museum, 16 Water Street, Mayville Lakeside Park. The event will celebrate the Centennial of the Mayville Depot, 1925-2025. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the afternoon.
The museum is open 1-5pm Fri-Sat-Sun, during the summer season, Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends. While admission to the Museum is free, modest donations are appreciated. Both annual and lifetime memberships to the Historical Society are also available. The annual membership is just $5 per year. The Historical Society meets monthly from May to October with featured speakers in the Sid Compton Room of the Chautauqua Town Hall.
The event will also celebrate the successful completion of the funding drive for Phase Two of the Depot Museum’s “modernization campaign”. Phase Two will see an outdoor digital touchscreen video kiosk installed at the Depot. This will be a first for Chautauqua County, and will serve as information node for the entire Lake Chautauqua area. Many cities now have outdoor digital kiosks that become focal points of community interaction and socializing. Mayville’s Depot kiosk promises to be just such an attraction. Looking for a restaurant, winery, lodging, entertainment, recreation, the biggest muskie in the lake? The kiosk will be the place to go! Funding for the outdoor kiosk came from generous grants from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, the Chautauqua County Progress for Economic Growth, and the Village of Mayville.
Completion of Phase One was celebrated last year at the season’s opening. It saw the installation of fiber optic, broadband, and ethernet for WIFI and the digital display of a series of short videos on various Mayville historical topics, including a survey of historic buildings, historical markers, a tour of the Mayville Cemetery, the ice industry, and a selection from John Luensman’s series “Chautauqua Lake, Past, Present, and Future.” Phase One was funded through grants from local foundations, including The Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation’s, DFT Communications, Lake Shore Savings Bank, and the Village of Mayville.
In addition to a continuous video show, the Museum’s holdings will be on display. The Museum houses numerous artifacts related to former Mayville residents and businesses. Its archives also have selected holdings of genealogical material. Some of the representative artifacts include an early printing press from the Mayville Sentinel, and an early voting booth, ice harvesting and ice fishing equipment, the Sea Lion room featuring artifacts, including a brass cannon, from the famous replica of a 16th century English three-masted sailing ship. The walls display numerous framed historical photos of local sites and artifacts. Whether a quick dip, or a serious immersion, a museum visit promises fascinating historical views and insights on Mayville, and its surrounding region.
Today, the museum occupies one half of the former Mayville railroad depot. The original two-story wooden depot was built in 1871. It served the regular rail service that passed through Mayville. On May 24, 1923, the original depot was destroyed by fire, not an uncommon occurrence for Mayville’s commercial buildings. One possible cause was that the painters had been using blow torches to burn paint off the outside of the building at the time. In 1925 a new one-story brick depot was rebuilt in the same location. Train service ceased in December 29, 1978, thus ending 112 years of rail service in Mayville. During the first century that the depot was in full operation, a number of notable figures passed stopped there, various politicians including Presidents Teddy and Franklin D. Roosevelt, presidential candidate Alf Landon, magician Harry Houdini, and the Liberty Bell. Over the past forty-five years, various community-oriented concerns have occupied the depot building.
The museum moved into the ticket office and passenger waiting room on east side of the former depot in June, 1979. The freight room occupied the west side of the building for most of its history. As rail service declined in the 1960s and early 1970s, the west side was rented by Chautauqua Malted Milk, Inc to store 100-pound bags of malted milk. Later, Access Channel 5, the public television station, set up shop there. Following this, the Rails to Trails and Historic Vessels had offices there. The last occupant was Susan Giannantonio, local artist who maintained a studio and taught classes there. Currently, it is unoccupied, but Evergreen Outfitters a paddle sports store, will be using the space this summer as their regular building across the street is undergoing renovation and Inspire Good WNY a non-profit directed by Serena Gilkinson, will be organizing events Saturday evenings throughout the summer at the location.
The railroad came to Mayville in 1866, and started regular service in 1867. Mayville was a major stop on the line that went from Oil City, PA to Brocton, NY. There, it linked with the Buffalo to Erie lines, and in turn, to the formerly vast North American rail system. Mayville, the county seat, benefited greatly this new accessibility and transport. It spawned the ice business, stoked tourism, and allowed for furniture manufacturing. According to some accounts, by the late 1880s, Lake Chautauqua, with its twenty-odd tourist hotels, its fleet of steam ships, and its rail links to major Eastern cities, became the number one tourist destination in the United States. Side trips to Niagara Falls were often included in the Lake Chautauqua package tours.
Currently, Mayville is undergoing revitalization and revival. The village recently received almost one million dollars in funding to enhance The Landing Plaza near the Chautauqua Belle steamship, build a new kayak/canoe launch, make improvements to the waterfront multi-use trail system, and install recreational equipment. On the village’s main street, several vacant store fronts have been recently purchased, and new businesses projected. In the last few years, several main street properties have welcomed new businesses, including The Mayberry Jungle florist shop and Handcrafted From the Heart, a gift shop. New restaurants have also been launched. Music for Your Mouth, a music-themed restaurant is garnering recognition beyond the region. She Sings Cafe, another music-themed restaurant, recently opened at the lower end of town, adding to the new-business momentum. The former (now vacant) House on the Hill and Watermark restaurants has been recently purchased, and are slated to reopen. Close by, Webb’s Year-Round Resort complex of hotel and miniature golf, was sold last year, renovated and open for business. Within the coming year, Tim Hortons is slated to open a new location in the village center. It will occupy the site of the former Mayville Diner, destroyed in an arson fire. And Mayville now supports its own local food truck, The Best of Buffalo by Bryon, often stationed outside the Mayville Depot.
A number of local businesses will be sponsoring the open house with contributed door prizes. These businesses include: Door prizes will be awarded throughout the afternoon from the following sponsors: 2 Ames; Andriaccio’s Restaurant; Ashville General Store; Art Cloth & Craft; Bark Grill; Bellini Lounge; Bemus Point Golf Club; The Best of Buffalo; Big Inlet Brewing; Boxcar Barney’s Ice Cream; Brazil Lounge; Brazill’s on Main; Brigiotta’s Produce; Calarco’s Restaurant; Chautauqua Belle; Chautauqua Golf Club; Chautauqua Institution; Chautauqua Liquor & Wine; Chop House on Main; Coppola’s Pizzeria; El Jarocho; Elliottville Brewing; Evergreen Outfitters; Fenton Historical Center; Fifties Grill & Five & 20 Spirits & Brewing; Food King Restaurant; Fuji Sushi & Steak House; Grace and Abe’s; Group Ther-Happy; Haff’s Acres Farm; Handcrafted From the Heart; Grape Discovery Center; Guppy’s; The Happy Cow; Heirloom Restaurant; Hogan’s Hut; Jack’s Barcelona Drive-In; Johnson Estate Winery; La Cucina Della Nonna; Lakeview Restaurant; Landmark Restaurant; Larry’s Cantina; Lena’s Pizza; Lighthouse Grocery; Mayville VFW Post 8647; Mayberry Jungle; Mayville Hardware; Meeders; M&T Bank, Music For Your Mouth; Napa Auto Center; National Comedy Center; Noble Winery; Northwest Bank; Old Corner Deli; Pearl City Hops; Pizza Express; Portage Hill Art Gallery; The Pub; Quagliana’s Bark Grill; Quintessential Print Shop; She Sings Café; Splash; The Swamp; Tap Room & Grill; Tim Horton’s; Tops Friendly Market; Truffle Honey Eatery; Turner Community Center; TW Biggins Wines & Spirits; Webb’s Candies; Webb’s Miniature Golf; Westfield’s Fisheries; When Pig’s Fly BBQ; Wicked Warren’s; Willow Run Golf Course.
There will be drawings throughout the afternoon, and at the close of the event, there will be a final “crescendo drawing,” with all the remaining prizes. A Tops Centennial birthday cake and other light refreshments will be served.