Chautauqua » Rueben Fenton http://aboutchautauqua.com An informative blog about Chautauqua NY, Chautauqua Institution and Chautauqua County Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:34:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Fenton Mansion and Museum in Jamestown NY http://aboutchautauqua.com/chautauqua/fenton-mansion-and-museum-in-jamestown-ny http://aboutchautauqua.com/chautauqua/fenton-mansion-and-museum-in-jamestown-ny#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:27:46 +0000 Denise http://aboutchautauqua.com/?p=302 The Fenton Mansion and museum sits atop a hill that  overlooks the city of Jamestown.

Reuben E. Fenton was Governor of New York State from 1865 to 1869. He also served in the US Congress (1853-1864) and US Senate (1869-1875). As one of the founders of the Republican Party, he was a close political associate of Abraham Lincoln.

Governor Fenton made his fortune in the lumbering business. He later commissioned local architect Aaron Hall to design and build a mansion in 1863. The building is Italian Villa architecture and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

The Fenton Mansion has served as headquarters for the local history center since 1964. For those who have not stopped by to visit the exhibits you are missing a part of local history. The exhibits are well planned and change regularly. The grounds are also beautiful, particularly in the fall.

Fenton Mansion

The Fenton History Center is open to the community and has a large resources collection, which includes a library, archives and educational resources. The exhibits at the FHC are tied to community interests and local heritage.


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