Jamestown is located in Chataugua County 89 miles SW of Buffalo on Chautaugua Lake near the Pennslyvania state line along Highway 17 on the banks of the Cassadaga River and in the Western Region of the state. Jamestown is part of the Jamestown, New York metro area.
Tradition says the community was named after founder, James Prendergast; another says it was named for Jamestown, VA. Jamestown was a 19th-century center for lumber and furniture making.