Bemus Point-Stow, New York "Chautauqua Lake ferry uses two automobile engines as motive power." From Chevrolet Leader News Newsreel Vol. 2 No. 1. Reupload of a previously uploaded film with improved video & sound. Originally a public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chautauq... Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, USA. The lake is approximately 17 miles (27 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately 13,000 acres (53 km2). The maximum depth is about 78 feet (23 m). The shoreline is about 41.1 miles (66 km) of which all but 2.6 mi (4 km) are privately owned... At the southern end of the lake is the City of Jamestown while the Village of Mayville is located at the northern end. Other villages located on the lake are Bemus Point, Maple Springs, Lakewood, Celoron, and Chautauqua, the site of the world famous Chautauqua Institution founded in 1874. There are many other settlements located on the lake, including Fluvanna, Greenhurst, Dewittville, Stow, and Ashville Bay. The lake is used primarily for recreation, such as boating and fishing, and tourism. The majority of tourists flock to the Chautauqua Institution, which contains a wide variety of stores, restaurants, and live music entertainment. Chautauqua Lake is known worldwide for its excellent muskellunge fishing and sailing. There are two very popular boat "hang outs" on the lake, "Sandy Bottoms", and Long Point State Park, located near Maple Springs. On busy, warm weekends, it is not uncommon to see nearly 100 boats in this area of the lake. There is one bridge that connects the opposite sides of the lake, the Veterans Memorial Bridge (also known as the Chautauqua Lake Bridge). The structure was completed on October 30, 1982 and joins Bemus Point to Stow on I-86 (at the time known as Route 17). Prior to the construction of the bridge, the only means for cars to cross the lake was facilitated by the Bemus Point-Stow ferry, a nine car cable guided ferry, which still operates during the summer months and has become more of a tourist attraction. The cost of the ferry ride is free, a donation is appreciated and is operated by the Sea Lion Project Ltd. http://www.sealionprojectltd.com/ferr... At Chautauqua Lake's Narrowest Crossing of 968 feet, the Bemus Point-Stow Ferry Has Been operating since 1811. It all began in 1806 when William Bemus bought the land on Both sides of the narrows and he and his son used rowboats to get across the Water. In 1811, Thomas Bemus applied for a license to operate a flat bottom raft. The license was granted in the summer of 1811, at the Court of Common Pleas in Mayville, located at the north end of the lake. This was the first order of business on the first meeting of that court. At first oars and poles where used to propel the ferry. This was followed by the use of manila ropes stretched between the shores. A few years later, a series of pulleys and ropes were devised, powered by the use of horses on the shore. By 1887, steel cables were put into use. At this time, the ferry was still being cranked by hand. The first steam engine was installed by 1902, followed by the first gasoline engine six years later. In 1943, the ferry was purchased and operated by the Chautauqua County Highway Department. The first diesel engine was used in 1977. Since 1983, The Chautauqua Lake Historic Vessels Co., a non-profit corporation devoted to preserving Historic vessels on Chautauqua Lake, had owned and operated the Ferry. In October of 2006 The Sea Lion Project Ltd. was organized... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bemus_Po... ...The ferry connecting Bemus Point and Stow, NY was founded in 1811 by Thomas Bemus. The original ferry was a raft built by Thomas, and had to be poled across the lake. Today, a cable-drawn ferry exists in its place and is operated by the Sea Lion Project LTD Until the nearby bridge (Now part of I-86) opened Oct 30, 1982, the Bemus-Stow Ferry was the only way to cross Chautauqua Lake. When closed for the winter months, motorist had to travel north-west to Mayville, or south-east to Jamestown to reach Stow. Either way was a 19-mile round trip. Local residents often purchased a seasonal pass to use the ferry, commuting to Lakewood, Sherman, or other areas west of the lake...
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