Around The Lake, Part One

We arrived in Westfield New York on August 11th.  Our first night at the campground our neighbors invited us over for fire and conversation.   They were a wonderful couple from Westfield and they were able to give us some information on the area. 

On the 12th we decided to drive around Lake Chautauqua.  Our first stop was in Jamestown New York. 
 
Jamestown, New York, is named after James Prendergast, an early Chautauqua County settler. His family had purchased 3,500 acres in 1806, in the area now known as Chautauqua County. James Prendergast explored the area that is now Jamestown. Prendergast saw the area to be valuable, and so he purchased 1,000 acres of land in the area in 1808. In the fall of 1809, Prendergast and an employee, John Blowers built a log cabin 1810, which became the first building in Jamestown. Another log cabin as well as mills and a dam were built later .
 
Jamestown is Lucille Ball's birthplace.  Other notable residents of Jamestown is Brad Anderson, Nick Carter, Natalie Merchant, Jud Strunk to name a few.

This is a beautiful old town with wonderful historical buildings.  The downtown area was difficult to drive because of the road construction and the bridge was out.  Mom and I wanted to visit the Lucille Ball Museum but was unable to because it was blocked off and parking was difficult.  Before leaving Jamestown  we decided to stop at Lakeview Cemetery.  I found a safe place to park the van and walked into the cemetery.  Since it was big I decided to wander the older section and forgo the newer.  You can imagine my surprise when I accidentally stumbled upon Lucille Ball’s headstone in the historical section.  She is buried with her parents and that explains the location of the her stone. 

Lakeview Cemetery was beautiful and very well maintained.  Click here for pictures.