Chautauqua County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 139,750. Its name may be a contraction of a Seneca Indian word meaning "bag tied in the middle". Its county seat is Mayville. Other important cities and villages in Chautauqua County are Clymer, Brocton, Cassadaga, Chautauqua, Cherry Creek, Dunkirk, Fredonia, Jamestown, Sherman, Silver Creek, Forestville, Sinclairville and Westfield.

History

Chautauqua County was created by partition of Genesee County on 1808-03-11[1]. This partition was performed under the same terms that produced Cattaraugus and Niagara Counties. The partition was performed for political purposes, but the counties were not properly organized, so they were all controlled as part of Niagara County.

On February 9, 1811, Chautauqua was completely organized, and so its separate government was launched. This established Chautauqua as a county of 1,100 Square Miles (2,848.99 Square KM) of land. Chautauqua was never altered.

Geography

Chautauqua County, in the southwestern corner of New York State, along the New York-Pennsylvania border, is the westernmost of New York's counties. Chautauqua Lake is located in the center of the county, and Lake Erie is its northern border.

Part of the Eastern Continental Divide runs through Chautauqua County. The area that drains into the Conewango Creek (including Chautauqua Lake) eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico; the rest of the county's watershed empties into Lake Erie and out into the North Atlantic Ocean. This divide, known as the Chautauqua Ridge, can be used to mark the border between the Southern Tier and the Niagara Frontier.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,500 square miles (3,885 km²). 1,062 square miles (2,751 km²) of it is land and 438 square miles (1,134 km²) of it (29.20%) is water.