The event, held at the county courthouse, featured Ellen Putnam Paquette presenting a series of rare and vintage photos of the community.

It was a presentation put together by her father, respected local historian Chase Putnam. Paquette digitized the show, added to it, and presented it to a sizable crowd.

The presentation next week began as a slideshow put together by Paquette’s father, noted local historian Chase Putnam. Paquette has digitized that show and added to it.

She said the goal was to provide a “fresh appreciation of where we’ve come from and what we have. (We are) so fortunate to have the beautiful Allegheny River at our doorstep.”

Times Observer photos by Josh Cotton Ellen Putnam Paquette speaks during a Warren County Historical Society program highlighting the historical side of the Allegheny River on Thursday night at the Warren County Courthouse. The presentation included this image, a look down Market St. from Sixth Ave. taken in 1863.

The presentation started with “bird’s eye” views of the city in the 1800s and then shifted to lumber rafting which was at the heart of the county’s first economic boom.

The presentation also included images of transportation over time – railroad and streetcar, an image of the Cornplanter grant prior to inundation by the Kinzua Dam and historical looks at many buildings that remain today.

Last week’s event was the first of two river-centric events the society has planned for this spring. The second is a presentation set for Thursday, Apr. 21, by Piper VanOrd on current and future elements of the river.