Gail Pugh Dash stands outside the Ellis/Rowley House in the fall of 2022 prior to it being razed. Dash will discuss artifacts she discovered in the house at the next Chautauqua County History Lecture at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center continues the fall installment of its Chautauqua County History Lecture Series on Thursday at 7 p.m., with Gleanings From the Ellis/Rowley Home in Laona.

The former Ellis home on Route 60 just outside of Laona was a well-known and highly recognized landmark on the oft-traveled roadway. Last owned by James Ellis Rowley, the structure was razed following his death in 2022.

But prior to the home’s demolition, Gail Pugh Dash, Pomfret Historian Todd Langworthy and several area historians were able to go into the house and discovered a treasure trove of documents and artifacts that offer fascinating insight into the history of the area – Laona, in particular – through business ledgers, bibles, a recipe box, The Normal School Mothers Club meeting minutes, and more!

Included in the artifacts is the personal Bible and Congolese Bible of Sylvia M. Parsell, who died in the Laona home of her sister Mrs. Lyvenus Ellis, in 1952. Parsell was a Missionary in the Belgian Congo for 26 years. The business ledgers show purchases by noted area residents A.A. Straight and Marion Skidmore, Ellis families, and many families with relatives still residing in the area. These and the insights they yield will be shared in this multimedia lecture.

Dash is the VP and Past President of the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society, Charter Secretary/Historian of the Celia Sampson Cole Daughters of 1812, and Secretary and Past Registrar of the Jamestown Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a 1986 graduate of SUNY Fredonia with a BS in Elementary Education and a concentration in Anthropology/Archaeology.

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.