cleanup · Chautauqua County
Jamestown Former Manufactured-Gas Plant
Jamestown
Former water-gas plant at 208 East First Street that operated from 1881 until an explosion destroyed structures around 1900–1901. DEC documented coal-tar liquid and contaminants above standards in soil and groundwater and classifies the property as a Class 2 State Superfund site requiring action.
The documented story
What happened here?
The former Jamestown Gas Works occupied about one acre at 208 East First Street. DEC's historical review states that a water-gas plant operated there from 1881 until 1900 or 1901, when an explosion destroyed structures at the site.
Historic plans show two gas holders, a water-gas house, a purifying house, and smaller structures. The property later became an access and parking area for an adjoining woodworking business, with the Chadakoin River approximately 100 feet to the south.
A utility explosion left an industrial record underground
Jamestown's gasworks disappeared, but coal tar remained beside the Chadakoin River
1881year the Jamestown water-gas plant began operating
1881-1901
Manufactured gas brought centralized light before natural gas arrived
The one-acre works used a water-gas process and included two large gas holders, a water-gas house, a purifying house, and smaller support buildings. Historical sources place the destructive explosion at either 1900 or 1901, so WNYAtlas retains that uncertainty rather than selecting one date.
After the explosion
Demolition removed the skyline, not the production residues
Coal tar and purifier waste could remain in and around former structures. Later borings found tar-coated material, possible purifier waste, and BTEX and PAH compounds associated with the former operation in soil and groundwater.
2013-present
Investigation connected the buried plant to a nearby river question
State investigations reconstructed former structures and evaluated non-aqueous-phase liquid, soil, and groundwater. Because the Chadakoin River is roughly 100 feet south, DEC identified potential off-site movement as an environmental concern and placed the property in the Class 2 State Superfund program.
Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Chronology
Timeline
- 1881
The Jamestown water-gas plant began operating.
- 1900–1901
An explosion destroyed plant structures and ended the documented operating era.
- 2013–2017
DEC site-characterization work investigated former structures, soil, groundwater, surface soil, and possible migration toward the Chadakoin River.
- May 2017
DEC added the property to the State Superfund Registry as a Class 2 site requiring action.
- Current program
Further investigation, exposure-pathway evaluation, remedy selection, and cleanup remain part of the State Superfund process.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Coal-tar nonaqueous-phase liquid was identified below ground.
- BTEX compounds and coal-tar-related PAHs exceeded groundwater standards near former gas holders and the suspected purifier-house area.
- PAHs exceeded soil criteria near a suspected central gas holder.
- DEC identified possible migration toward the nearby Chadakoin River as a significant environmental concern.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- The Class 2 designation requires investigation and remedial action; it is not a completed-cleanup classification.
- DEC called for defining the nature and extent of contamination, evaluating on- and off-property exposure pathways, and assessing cleanup alternatives.
- A final remedy should be described only after DEC issues the corresponding decision documents.
Then and now
The site today
Jamestown is the clearest newly added active-cleanup priority in the manufactured-gas network. The official record supports action required, but it does not support claims about specific health effects or contamination across every nearby parcel.
Atlas connections
Connected places
These collections explain documented material, facility, waterway, ownership, or cleanup relationships. Inclusion does not imply that every place shares one contaminant source or plume.
Manufactured-gas plant network
These sites share a historic gas-manufacturing system and recurring contaminant profile. Their classifications range from active cleanup to completed management and preliminary investigation; they are a comparative network, not one connected plume.
The former Buffalo Service Station / Blue Cross–HealthNow property is a completed cleanup and redevelopment example.
Managed remedy and active creek investigationIroquois Gas / Westwood PharmaceuticalThe former Iroquois Gas source area and lower Scajaquada Creek show how coal tar can require both constructed controls and continuing downstream investigation.
Class 4 Tonawanda siteGastown Former Manufactured-Gas PlantThe Gastown record shows how the same industrial system appeared in the City of Tonawanda.
Active Lockport programTransit Street Former Manufactured-Gas PlantTransit Street extends the comparative MGP record to Lockport.
Completed West Seneca cleanupMineral Springs Road Former Manufactured-Gas PlantMineral Springs Road documents another separately bounded former gas-manufacturing property.
Gas-holder propertyBuffalo Gas Light Gas Holder / 31 Tonawanda StreetThe Tonawanda Street holder site represents storage infrastructure within the historic manufactured-gas system.
Class 2 State Superfund siteJamestown Former Manufactured-Gas PlantJamestown is an action-required site with documented coal-tar liquid and possible migration toward the Chadakoin River.
Active Dunkirk programDunkirk Former Manufactured-Gas PlantDunkirk remains under active investigation and cleanup review, including off-property and bedrock groundwater work.
Potential Niagara Falls siteNiagara Falls Former Manufactured-Gas PlantHistoric maps establish the gasworks near the Rainbow Bridge area, while DEC's Class P status preserves uncertainty about current cleanup needs.
Potential Salamanca gas propertySalamanca Former Gas PropertyThe Salamanca record documents gas purification and distribution history but does not yet establish on-site manufactured-gas production or a required remedy.