Jamestown's founder, James Prendergast, built the town's first dam and sawmill in 1811, taking advantage of the vast white pine forests on the hills overlooking the southeast tip of Chautauqua Lake. By the mid-1800s Jamestown was one of the state's leading producers of furniture and wood products. Locally produced “pearl ash” was used to make glass, and the town was nicknamed Pearl City. Learn More...