The history of Midway State Park will be presented at the Fredonia Opera House at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center continues the spring installment of its Chautauqua County History Lecture Series on Thursday at 7 p.m., with exploration of the history of Midway State Park.

The program’s speaker, Park Manager Christine Wilson, will speak about Midway’s early years before the amusement park portion opened, the modes of transportation to the park, such as trolleys and steamboats, why the park was started and possible reasons why it has continued to survive.

Located on the shores of Chautauqua Lake, Midway State Park is a family treasure. Originally established in 1898 as a trolley park, Midway State Park is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the nation.

The first owners of the park constructed playing fields, tennis courts, bath houses and a dance hall to entice customers to ride the trolley on weekends. In 1915, a new building was constructed with a kitchen, a large dining room and space for dancing and roller skating. Today, this building is home to a museum, gift shop, concession stands and other facilities.

Admission to the lecture is free, with donations gratefully accepted. Opera House programming is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and the Ralph Wilson Jr. Arts & Cultural Initiative as administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center is a member-supported not-for-profit performing arts center with a mission to “present the performing arts for the benefit of our community and region … providing access to artistic diversity … and high-quality programming at an affordable price.” It is located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.