The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center will present the next program in its 2026 Here & There – Chautauqua County History, Travelers and Memories series on Thursday at 7 p.m. Presented in partnership with the Dunkirk Historical Society, the program will be The Erie Rail Road Comes to Dunkirk.

The New York and Erie Rail Road was the first railroad to link the Atlantic and the Great Lakes; and when it opened in 1851 it was the longest railroad in the world. 

Railroad historian William D. Burt will show how it happened — the choice of Dunkirk as the western terminus, the original line NY&E built and then abandoned in favor of a better one, and the 1851 grand opening celebration.  He will discuss how railroad directors speculated in Dunkirk land and laid out several blocks of the city, and how many Dunkirk streets are named for them.

What is the Erie’s legacy in Dunkirk? This well-illustrated presentation covers it all.

Burt published his first history article when he was in high school and has continued writing, off and on, ever since. Following a career in the railroad industry, he took up researching and writing about the history of the fascinating business, with a primary interest in Eastern railroading, particularly the Erie Lackawanna and its predecessor railroads.

He holds a BA in Political Science from SUNY Geneseo and a dual MS in Transportation Planning and Engineering and Management Science from Polytechnic Institute of New York (now part of NYU). He culminated a 27-year career in the railroad industry as President and COO of the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad and its subsidiaries B&H Rail Corp. and Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad.

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 by the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County.

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.