Robert Redford’s death early Tuesday morning in Utah has at least one connection with Chautauqua County that was noted earlier this month regarding a South Dayton celebration.

Redford, who died at the age of 89, left a movie trail etched into land. He seemed to reside as much across the American landscape as he did on movie screens. He was in the Rocky Mountains of “Jeremiah Johnson,” the Wyoming grasslands of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the Washington, D.C., alleyways of “All the President’s Men” and the Montana streams of “A River Runs Through It.”

His other big hit “The Natural” was filmed in Buffalo in 1983 — and featured the village of South Dayton’s Depot, a location with a history that includes the start of freight and passenger service by the New York & Lake Erie Railroad. A press release on the site’s 150th celebration noted that former Mayor Larry Zollinger was instrumental in parts of that movie.

While the story of fictional baseball player Roy Hobbs’ came shining through — so did a rich history of the Queen City and a small site in Chautauqua County. It was a magical moment worth savoring.