I'm surprised that the McClurg Musuem/CCHS doesn't have any reviews yet. My boyfriend and I popped…read morein while we were in town and ended up getting a wonderful 2 hour tour full of history and stories from John Paul. The home is beautiful and full of antiques from all over Chautauqua county. Admission is $5 and free for students and members. I would recommended the museum tour to anyone looking to understand more about Chautauqua County and the people who have lived here over the past 3 centuries.

This is the place that I needed when I was a kid. The bottom floor has water and wind related…read moreactivities and a bicycle course. The first floor has art related activities. The third floor is THE BEST. There are play areas related to farming, grocery stores, cafes, tv broadcasting, recycling, medical, building, auto...I'm sure I missed something. It was awesome! Def check this out when visiting.

Great hands on play for kids!…read more This place was a great experience for my kids aged 5 to 8. The free parking lot is right across the street from the entrance making it easy to navigate. After entering the main floor has a few small hands on art based activities. I highly recommend starting on the top floor and working your way down. The top floor has so much to do and we ran out of time before we could check everything out. The museum was clean and well organized. Lots of hands on activities for all age levels. Every kid will find something to enjoy. The shopping experience was one of their favorites. We spent about two hours but could have easily stayed longer.

A modest museum that has a lot of General electric trains. But more. Nice people volunteer here. We…read morehad a nice visit. DOG FRIENDLY

This train museum is definitely worth a visit when you take a trip to North East, PA. Especially…read morefor those trains enthusiasts. Not only you can check out these older-version trains, it is also a perfect place to watch the trains in used as well. There is a little gift shop that offers a cool merch from cute key chains, post cards to the train operating manuals, not to mention a knowledgeable and friendly staff who would give you an in-dept details about the train history. Would recommend this train museum for a fun family day. There is no wait to enter, as well as no fee, though the donation is recommended in order for them to keep this place running.

Wow! You have to stop in to the Mayville Depot Museum if you're in the area. It's managed by the…read moreChautauqua Township historical society and hosts a large variety of different antiques. When we entered, we were greeted by a volunteer who gave us an overview of what's in the museum. Then we saw the wall of photos- of what the train station and port once looked like. The next room is a replica of the train station ticket office and managers desk. Lots of old antique communication instruments including a telegraph. Great view of the water from this room. In the next room there's a ton! Century old voting booth, lantern collection, schoolhouse items, rail wagon, farm items, collection of Kodak cameras, and so much more! There's also a display of items made in Chautauqua county from many of the businesses that were once here! Great way to spend an hour (or less), and kid friendly too!! $2 donation.

Wow! What a hidden treasure! If you're visiting Mayville, stop by and learn a bit about the…read morehistory of this community!!

There's a lot to see at the Fenton History Center! Spread out among multiple floors, plan to spend…read moreabout an hour (or longer) here. The ground level contained a gift shop, several rooms with antique furniture, and a room that contained a timeline of Jamestown and Chautauqua county history as well as locally made items. Some of the exhibits upstairs included a furniture room, an upside down Christmas tree, a toy room, observation tower, Lucille Ball photographs, and more. Some of the exhibits on the lower level (basement) included an old kitchen, Swedish Roo, Underground Railroad information, and farming tools. There were docents spread throughout the museum, and QR codes to watch videos on the items in each room. Overall worth the visit!

There is something here for everyone. Woman's suffrage, slavery, local history, tools, trains. The…read moreRed Cross, and war time. A lot of information on the forming of the town of Jamestown. Great place to spend an afternoon. This is a self-guided tour. Once you pay your $10 you're on your own. Con's - there has to be something bad about every place you go. Here there are a lot of stairs. There is no way to maneuver most of the building if you cannot do the stairs. No elevator. I went in July, it was so hot in the building. Might want to try it in the winter time. Also the lighting is poor. Lots of things to read, but could not see what was written on the cards. wanted to know more about sometimes, but there was no information on and no one to ask.

Graycliff is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's residential designs and is often regarded as the bridge…read morebetween his Prairie houses of the early 1900s and later masterpieces, such as Fallingwater (I look forward to visiting one day). Designed by Wright for Isabelle and Darwin D. Martin (and unlike the Martin house, which you should also visit), the estate sits on an 8.5-acre bluff overlooking Lake Erie. It's about 25 miles southwest of Buffalo, New York. And I did not realize this important tidbit: the gardens and landscape designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, who worked with Wright. The property was built between 1926 and 1931 as the summer home for the Martin family. Also, Graycliff is a New York State Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Importnat note: the Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House and Graycliff Conservancy are two separate nonprofits -- I did not know that before my visit. The two even have distinct missions. But they each have the common goal to preserve and share the history of the Martin family and Wright's work. I highly recommend visiting both sites. And be sure to check the schedule and tour times. Outside of the welcome center, gift shop and adjacent garden, you must sign up for a paid tour to see the rest of the buildings on site. In the central house, Wright effectively dissolved the traditional boundary between indoors and outdoors. There is local limestone, ochre stucco and cedar shingles and, if you keep a watchful eye, you will see Wright's designs at work: triangles, circles, hearts, diamond-shapes and other shapes are embedded and featured throughout the grounds and in the architecture. Graycliff was also personally significant for Wright. During the mid-1920s his career and finances were in turmoil. The Martins, longtime friends as well as clients, commissioned Graycliff at a moment when relatively few of Wright's designs were being built. Over time, many architectural historians view the project as helping sustain his practice during one of the most difficult periods of his life. And last interesting tidbit: The Martin family owned the property until after Isabelle and Darwin died. It was sold in 1951 to the Piarist Fathers, an order of Roman Catholic Priests from Hungary. They lived in and used Graycliff until 1997 (even built buildings and structures), when the property was sold. Graycliff was actual set to be demolished for condominiums -- can you imagine?! A few tips for your visit: -If you are driving a larger vehicle (large trucks, RV's, camper vans, vehicles pulling trailers, call in advance. The team will work to accommodate your vehicle. Do not miss the brand new visitor center. It has interactive educational features, an informative video and an excellent gift shop, with snacks on site. -Parking is out front at no cost. -A portion of all tours is outside, rain or shine. -Wear comfortable clothing and comfortable walking shoes. -Apparently, stiletto heels are not allowed in the main house to protect the restored floor. -Only service animals are allowed on the grounds.

I did a tour of Graycliff as part of the All Day All Wright tour a while ago anat that time it was…read moreinteresting but also a bit disappointing both because the renovations were ongoing and we arrived late due to traffic so the tour was cut short. Seeing online that Graycliff had just opened a new visitor center and was in full swing I decided to make a one day trip to see it again. Located about a half hour southwest of Buffalo and about an hour northeast of Erie, Graycliff sit right on the Lake Erie shore. There is a small sign at the end of the long drive that leads you to the new visitor center. The center is set up just outside the area that Wright designed. The center is very modern but it does have elements that are inspired by Wright, the horizontal lines of the building, the glass that allows you to see through the building is similar to Graycliff. Inside there is a very nice gift shop, some interesting exhibits and an unusual unisex bathroom. I had signed up for the extended tour and we had a nice group who all had some experience with Wright before, including one guy who had done extensive work in building the new visitor center. The tour starts in the visitor center with a very well made video giving some of the history of Wright, the Martins and Graycliff. After that we went through the Picking Garden which was very attractive and smelled wonderful. We then learned about the layout of the outside, including that the driveway was oriented to track the movement of the sun on the summer solstice. We were also informed about the history of the site, the local materials being used and the history of the house after the Martins had to give it up. We also were told about the water features and how the house was oriented to allow views through the house to see the lake. Although this was the 3rd project Darwin Martin had hired Wright for (the Darwin Martin House and the Larkin Company Adminstration Building were the others) here the client was Mrs. Martin and this was to be a summer house so the overall design is a bit unique. The timing of the project was also crucial as Wright had finished his Prairie Style and the Usonian style was not yet developed. Wright had also gone through a number of personal issues and public scandals so this commission was helpful in bridging a difficult period. Once inside Graycliff you realize that there are many common Wright elements, the use of natural materials, the importance of the hearth as the heart of the house and how he had opened up the common areas with a flow. Graycliff is unique in how it is oriented to the lake with huge windows on both sides. We also got to see the second floor and the second floor of the smaller second house that initially was the garage and chauffeur's quarters and later used by Martin's daughter's family. I have to compliment our docent Brian who did a great job of guiding us through the house and property while supplying information, pointing out details and just being very entertaining. Wright was a complex person, while a genius and visionary he also had personal issues and could be difficult to work with, Brian gave a nice balanced view of Wright, his relationship to the Martins and how Graycliff came to be, plus its history and restoration. On my previous visit I had enjoyed Graycliff, but also found it a bit disappointing, this visit reflects the great job that has been done on finishing the restoration and furnishing the property to best effect. While not as flashy as some of the better know Wright designs, Graycliff is well worth a visit for its historical significance to Wright and to see how he was in transition and developing new and different ideas. A great visit and I am so glad I took the time for a second visit.

LIKED: This historic…read morebuilding boasts ample parking, a wealth of historic artifacts, and convenient access due to its proximity to a major highway. WOULD HAVE LIKED: - The exhibits could be more appealing to adults instead of students. Many of the exhibits seem to be designed for elementary and middle school students rather than adults. - A more reasonable price. The current $23 fee appears excessive considering the value provided during a visit.

It is a great place for kids. They have interactive things and a variety of things to look atread more

a great museum full of history. a wonderful place in this sleepy little town. its a shame someone…read moreburned down the Erie railroad depot that is history that cannot be replaced. also i heard kids burned down the B&O depot? its a shame children destroy our history because of poor parenting.

This place was so cool! I've always passed by it on the way to the antique mall in Salamanca, but…read moreonly recently made it a point to stop in during our weekend getaway! The museum is small, but absolutely rich with history. It was a Passenger Depot for the Buffalo, Rochester, & Pittsburgh Railway in the early 1900's. The inside of the museum still retains the look of a train station in that day, with most of the rooms still in tact! You can see where luggage was processed, where passengers would have bought tickets, and even sit and wait for trains! There are plenty of train-related relics and memorabilia that fills cases in the museum, decorates the walls, etc. There is a huge model train display in the center of the room, but it was under maintenance when we visited. What adds to the experience here is the train cars you can explore here! I've never been inside of an old train car before, and this place has several you can walk through. Some of them have old cots from where passengers would sleep, ovens and 'kitchens', closets, even toilets. It's super cool to be able to see how people would travel back in the day! I definitely recommend visiting this museum at least once, even if you're not that in to trains. But if you are, this is definitely the spot for you!

Cute shop in downtown Erie that houses art from local and abroad artists. Jewelry, pairings,…read moreceramics, glass work and more. They recently celebrated their fifteenth anniversary. Friendly staff answered questions about the shop and Erie in general.

Glass art is one of my favorite forms of art. The gallery did not disappoint me. So much to see…read more I loved the jewelry to the pottery to the blown and stained glass. We visited on a Friday evening where wine, cheese, crackers and cookies were served. Quite a few people were in attendance, it was great to be out and about with others taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the arts.