We’ll dive into the history a little more about the former Empire Worsted Mills, which received a new historical marker here in Jamestown, NY.

At 3 p.m. the Jamestown Historical Marker Committee will dedicate the City’s 69th historical marker by the Boys & Girls Club at 62 Allen Street.

Then at 4 p.m., the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County will hold its 2015 Campaign Kickoff.

This year’s goal is to raise $1.3 million, which will be used to support two dozen service programs in the greater Jamestown area.

Members of Hope’s Steel Windows & Doors stand with city officials under the new historical marker that was recently placed outside the company’s administrative office entrance on Hopkins Ave. in the city.

JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown Historical Marker Committee has unveiled another marker in the city.

On Tuesday afternoon city historian B. Delores Thompson, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and other city officials gathered at Hope’s Steel Windows & Doors on Hopkins Ave on the east side of town to present the newest city marker commemorating the business that’s been in operation in the city for more than 100 years.

Thompson said the location for the new historical marker was selected for several reasons.

“Hopes as been one of the industries in Jamestown for 102 years. It’s been one of the mainstays for all of those years so it is historical. It’s part of our past and part of our history,” She explained. “But it is also continuing to serve clientele worldwide with its windows, and so it continues to make history for Jamestown and putting Jamestown on the worldwide map. We can be very proud of that.”

Hope’s Windows remains in operation with dozens of employees taking time out from their work day to witness the historical marker dedication ceremony. The newest marker brings the overall total of historical markers in the city to 69.

For a complete list of historical markers in the city, visit www.jamestownny.net/index.php/parks-and-recreation/historical-marker-program.

City Historian B. Dolores Thompson and Mayor Samuel Teresi

JAMESTOWN – Another historical marker has been erected in Jamestown.

On Friday afternoon, The Jamestown Historical Marker Committee dedicated the City’s 67th historical marker next to the Lucille Ball Little Theatre building at 18 East Second Street.

The latest marker honors the Chautauqua County Political Equality Club. The organization promoted women’s right to vote during the suffrage movement, marking the 125th anniversary of its organization.

The late 1800s marked a surge in the efforts to secure the right to vote for women. Since the inception of the United States and its Constitution, women were considered citizens and were required to pay taxes. However, they had no vote in the government to which they paid those taxes and no voice in any of the laws enacted that they were expected to honor.

Efforts to secure the right to vote began in June 1848 at the celebrated Seneca Falls, NY, Convention. By the 1880s, efforts were in full swing throughout the country. Small groups sprang up in many small local communities, including in all of Chautauqua County.

On October 31, 1888, the Jamestown group hosted a meeting of all the various County groups at Allen’s Opera House (now Little Theatre). They decided to organize as a county organization, which was a first in New York State. With over 1,000 members by 1891, it was the largest county suffrage organization in the United States.

Women were finally formally granted the right to vote on August 26, 1920, through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.  Congress had passed the Amendment in June 1919, but the required state ratifications were not reached until the following August.  In November, women voted for the President of the United States for the first time in the country’s 144-year history.

Committee members assisting in securing funding and getting the marker posted were City Historian B. Deloris Thompson, Clair Carlson, Traci Langworthy, Karen Livsey, and Arthur Osterdahl.