As the town of Busti prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary, a local historian believes the town’s history should play a central role.

Norman Carlson, a member of the Busti Historical Society and a staff member at the Fenton Historical Society, expressed his desire to see more community involvement in honoring Busti’s history.

While he acknowledged the town’s bicentennial celebration committee is only in the early stages, Carlson is concerned that the history of Busti could get lost in the festivities being planned to celebrate the town.

As a member of the bicentennial committee, Carlson shared some of the town’s historical highlights.

Despite disagreement in historical textbooks, Carlson said the town of Busti was settled in 1808. However, the settlement did not become an official town until 1823, with the law establishing the town not taking effect until the following March.

As a small town near Jamestown, Carlson said Busti was mainly a farming community, just like the majority of Chautauqua County was throughout its history.

Despite its humble beginnings, Carlson said Busti has a rich history with many notable people and events over the past 200 years.

“We have a lot of people that were born in Busti or lived in Busti that have made a contribution to American life and American history over the years,” he said.

General George Stoneman, who was famous for his service in the Civil War and for being elected as the 15th governor of California, was born in the town of Busti. Carlson said Stoneman is buried in Bentley Cemetery.

Other notable people from Busti include Katherine Stoneman, the first woman lawyer in New York state; Joseph Gerace, the first Chautauqua County executive and state Supreme Court justice; Walter Gifford, a state assemblyman; Eliza Gifford, an advocate for women’s rights; and James Johnson, head of the Robert Jackson Center and an international jurist.

Carlson said the town also was the location of several notable events in Chautauqua County’s history. The county’s first unsolved murders, known as the Shearman-Davis murders, occurred in Busti Dec. 14, 1894. On Dec. 7, 1898, a major fire devastated the main business section of Busti. In 1907, the Busti Hotel also was destroyed in a fire.

Additionally, in 1974, Cummins moved to Busti in the former Art Metal plant building.

With Busti preparing to celebrate its bicentennial, Carlson believes a community emphasis should be placed on historical information, commemoration, publication, display, collection and interviews.

Carlson would like to see more people participate in the Busti Historical Society and the Lakewood History Room. He suggested that more historical markers should be put up in anticipation of the town’s 200th anniversary.

“There’s just all kinds of historically oriented things that I would like to see happen,” Carlson said.

While Carlson wants the bicentennial celebration to be more intentional in acknowledging the town’s history, he is hopeful that the events will spark interest in the community.

“They will call attention to the fact that there is such a thing as history in Busti,” he said. “People just aren’t thinking about it. It will call attention to the fact that many of the places and the institutions and businesses and families that they experience and pass by every day extend to the depths of time to a greater extent than their memory and their lifetime and that it’s a bigger world and a more wonderful reality.”