The Fenton History Center occupies the Italian-villa mansion of Reuben Fenton, a Civil War-era governor of New York and U.S. senator from Jamestown. Built in 1863 with the proceeds of the Jamestown lumber and textile boom, the house has been restored to its 1880s appearance and is now the regional history museum.
The collection covers Chautauqua County life from Native American times to the present, with a strong genealogy library on the upper floors that draws visitors researching Swedish-American ancestry — Jamestown was once a major Swedish immigrant centre. The carriage house at the back contains a permanent exhibit on the Civil War. A short walk south of downtown; the grounds are open to the public year-round.