Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 31,730 people, 13,558 households, and 7,904 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,364.3/km² (3,534.6/mi²). There were 15,027 housing units at an average density of 646.1/km² (1,673.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.52% White, 3.39% African American, .64% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.8% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.94% of the population.
There were 13,558 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.1% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,837, and the median income for a family was $33,675. Males had a median income of $30,003 versus $20,039 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,316. About 15.8% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
The Mayors of Jamestown, New York.
1. Oscar F. Price, 1886 - 1895
2. Eleazer Green, 1895 - 1899
3. Henry H. Cooper, 1899 - 1906
4. James L. Weeks, 1906 - 1908
5. Samuel A. Carlson, 1908 - 1928
6. Lars Larson, 1928 - 1930
7. Samuel A. Carlson, 1930 - 1934
8. Leon F. Roberts, 1934 - 1938
9. Harry C. Erickson, 1938 - 1941
10. Samuel A. Stroth, 1941 - 1951
11. Stanley A. Weeks, 1951 - 1954
12. Samuel A. Stroth, 1954 - 1955
13. Carl F. Sanford, 1955 - 1961
14. William D. Whitehead, 1961 - 1963
15. Frederick H. Dunn, 1963 - 1967
16. Charles B. Magnuson, 1967 - ?
17. Steven B. Carlson 1976 - 1990 [1] [2]
18. Donald W. Ahlstrom 1990 - 1992
19. Carolyn G. Seymour 1992 - 1994 [3]
20. Samuel Teresi, 2000-Current [4]
Economy
* Major Businesses
The Jamestown area has a few large manufacturing plants that are major employers in this region. These include Bush Industries (makers of ready-to-assemble furniture), Cummins Inc. (manufacturer of diesel engines, the heavy duty engine plant is located in Lakewood, just west of Jamestown, but is named Jamestown Engine Plant - JEP), MRC Bearings, Valeo (a plant under its Engine Cooling division is located here) and Truck-Lite (makers of truck lighting systems).
* Education
Jamestown has one campus of Jamestown Community College. Jamestown Business College provides two-year degrees and certificates in the business field.
Jamestown also houses a high school, Jamestown High School; three middle schools, Persell Middle School, Washington Middle School, and Jefferson Middle School; as well as six elementary schools, C.C. Ring School, CV Bush School, Fletcher School, Lincoln School, Love School, and Rogers School.
The Red Raider Marching Band from Jamestown High School is one of the most traveled high school marching bands in the country, having been as far as Hawaii, and appearing on such shows as The Late Show with David Letterman.
Sports:
This is the home city for the
Jamestown Jammers baseball team of the New York - Penn League. The Jammers are the Single A Short Season affiliate of the Florida Marlins
Notable Natives
* Roger Goodell, the current NFL Commissioner, was born and raised here.
* Robert H. Jackson, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, attended Jamestown High School.
* Lucille Ball, the television legend who's hometown and birthplace is Celoron.
* Natalie Merchant, a musician
* 10,000 Maniacs rock band called Jamestown their home.
* Roger Tory Peterson, a naturalist, artist, educator, and photographer was born in Jamestown and is remembered through the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
* Nick Carter, a singer, was originally from Jamestown, though he grew up elsewhere.
* Walter Washington, the first elected mayor of Washington, D.C. was raised in Jamestown.
Transportation
The Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport (JHW) is north of the city and provides scheduled and charter air service.
Bus service is provided by Coach USA of Erie. Connections are available. to the Greyhound service in Buffalo. There is also a countywide bus service (CARTS) and taxi service through various companies.
Museums
The Fenton Museum of History is named after former resident Reuben Fenton, the twenty-fifth governor of New York.
The Lucy/Desi Museum is dedicated to the city's best-known daughter, Lucille Ball.
Sister Cities
Jamestown has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
* Jakobstad, Finland
* Kosovo, Serbia