It’s long past time to right a wrong when it comes to a full understanding of the history of Jamestown.

Kudos to the Chadakoin Valley Project and the Fenton History Center for stepping up to do just that.

The Chadakoin Valley Project’s mission is to preserve and share Jamestown’s Black history through the voices of those who lived it. The project focuses on authentic perspectives, working to ensure the city’s Black history is both remembered and honored. The project has its roots in an effort to create a new historic district in Jamestown in the Chadakoin Park area. That effort uncovered the fact that the city’s current Cultural Resources Survey was woefully out of date.

Local organizations are partnering with community members to collect oral histories, preserve archival records, and create spaces for dialogue as part of the Chadakoin Valley Project. The project’s name is a combination of Chadakoin Park, which has long served as a gathering place for the Black community, and the Valley Striders, a track club founded by Black residents that later gave rise to Chautauqua Striders. Project lead, Patricia Graves, said she was brought in to look at the history of the Little Africa neighborhood and work on collecting information to help with the creation of a potential historic district.

“We do not teach history to include their contributions and we want to educate people on this community and tell their story using their voices and not through the voices of others,” Graves said. “Our goal for this project is not only the digital library but to also showcase this history through museums or artscapes, to honor the history that we find as well.”

The project is looking for volunteers and for people to share their stories. Those interested can email Janel.Graves@gmail.com. We hope the Chadakoin Valley Project is successful in filling in the gaps of our community’s history. We know the stories of community leaders like Vivian and Lula Taylor, Vickye James, John Little and Henry Davis, who aided the Underground Railroad, Catherine Harris, who was also an important local figure in the Underground Railroad, and abolitionist speaker Rev. Samuel Ringgold Ward. But we’re sure there are more – and the region should hear their stories.