Some Stories About Chautauqua

Thursday, June 18, at 7 pm, local historian and former Chautauqua Institution archivist Jon Schmitz will be giving the Chautauqua Town Historical Society’s June talk, “Some Stories About Chautauqua.” The CTHS’s programs are on the third Thursday of the month. The talks are in the Veteran’s Memorial Meeting Room of the Chautauqua Town Hall, 2 Academy Street, Mayville, NY.

As Archivist Emeritus of the Chautauqua Archives, Jon Schmitz is perhaps the foremost authority on “official” Chautauqua lore. Of course, it is something of a parlor game for Chautauquans to recount stories about the Institution and its residents through its century-and-a-half multigenerational history. But more than anyone, Jon Schmitz has overseen the institutional knowledge and documentation to either back them up, or relegate them to the “tall tale” file. In this talk, he will recount some of his favorite Chautauqua stories, some tall, some not so tall, and some simply short.

Before coming to Chautauqua, Jon Schmitz lived in a number of different locales. His family moved around frequently. He was originally from Los Angeles, and then lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Bloomington, Indiana, Washington D.C. and also Germany for a year. By the time he was a teenager, his family had settled in Canada. Throughout his family’s moves, one constant remained: his love for history. From a young age, he delighted in going to the library to check out books or reenacting historical events with friends. It was in Canada that he developed his skills and passion for archival work, serving as archivist in several positions in Toronto.

From 2002 to 2025, Schmitz served as Chautauqua Institution’s archivist and historian. He was the primary steward of records, artifacts and institutional memory. During his tenure, Schmitz modernized and organized the Institution’s historical collections, making them accessible to researchers and the public. One of his primary achievements was overseeing the opening of the Oliver Archives Center as the primary home of the Institution Archives. Schmitz also oversaw preservation and digitization efforts that placed most archival photographs online, along with The Chautauquan Daily’s archive, and the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle magazine The Chautauquan. His work also included acquisitions, appraisal, arrangement, description, copyright and public education through writing, lecturing and mentoring. Many of his mentees have gone on to positions with major institutions, including the Smithsonian, university libraries, and the White House.