Jamestown, New York’s Lost Neighborhood

A group of fifteen eighth grade students started learning about the “Lost Neighborhood” of Jamestown, New York with educators Grace Johnson and Jeff Kresge in March of 2008.  With the help of Jamestown Public Schools Records Department’s Mrs. Pamela Brown and documents on the Lost Neighborhood, the students have been doing research in an effort to discover this unfortunate part of Jamestown’s past.  We hope to become a digital warehouse for anecdotes, photographs, maps, family histories, and  articles written about this area.  Please support us by spreading the word of our project, submitting documents, and emailing us with your comments.  While the original group has moved on to Jamestown High School, they hope to continue their work and to pass the project along to a new group of students.  To contact us, please email Jeff Kresge at 99jkresge@jamestown.wnyric.org.

Overview of the Lost Neighborhood

The Harrison-Derby-Victoria Neighborhood was home to nearly 100 predominantly Italian-American families and 80 businesses.  They were displaced by the Urban Renewal Project of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  This resulted in the scattering of these families and the loss of a tight-knit community in the southern portion of our city.  Those who were forced to move still lament the loss of this area and in fact get together at a yearly reunion to reminisce about life there. 

The reason for the Urban Renewal Project was to create a zone in which to draw

new industry and jobs to the area.  However, by the time the project was completed, many companies slated to come to Jamestown opted instead to establish new facilities in tax-free areas in the south.  This left a void in the downtown area, adding a bitterness among those who were forced to leave.

News from the Lost Neighborhood Project:

We were fortunate enough to have been selected as the 2007-2008 winners of the New York State Archives Research Award for middle schools.  We are thrilled by the fact that our project was selected and loved our trip to Albany, NY to receive our award in late October.  While there, we toured the State Supreme Court and the Capitol Building.  Please see our photos page to see images from the trip and the articles page to see press coverage of the event. 

We are grateful to the many members of our community who helped us raise funds for the trip, including the staff and students of Persell, Applebee’s, Cummins Engine, Spectrum Eyecare, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

If you:

- would like to contribute to this website,

- have interesting facts on the Lost Neighborhood,

- have photos of the Lost Neighborhood,

-would like to contact Grace Johnson, Jeff Kresge or the students of the Lost Neighborhood Project,

Please email us at:

99jkresge@jamestown.wnyric.org