Mayville, NY

Mayville is Chautauqua County's seat at the northwest end of Chautauqua Lake, and its history keeps circling back to water and transportation. The village became the county seat when Chautauqua County was formed in 1808, then grew through railroads, lake traffic, and the ice trade. Six ice houses once operated here, with the industry employing as many as 600 people before the last ice was harvested in 1935. Rail service arrived in 1867, a second line came along the lake in 1887, and electric trolleys later joined the network. The trains are gone, but the old county-seat streets and lakefront still show why Mayville mattered.