The Society maintains a collection of locally produced artifacts, school class photographs, jars and labels from the village mince-meat factories, information on men who served in the military, and some family files.

There are a number of people who can trace their roots back to Port Byron or who settled here for awhile. Before he was a leader of the Mormon faith, Brigham Young lived here in the early 1830's. He was a painter and builder. One of the early buildings he lived in still exists on Pine Street. Henry Wells of "Wells and Fargo" fame also lived here in the early 1830's. We can trace Isaac Singer of sewing machine fame here in 1837, when he was better known for his acting then his machinery skills. Sculptor Byron Pickett lived here in the 1840's and his family is buried in the local cemetery. Clara Barrus trained in Boston to become a doctor. She is better known as the aid and biographer of naturalist John Burroughs. She also wrote a book about her childhood, titled "A Life Unveiled" written under the name "A Child of the Drumlins". Actress Kittie Rhoades was raised here and she kept a summer house nearby. She is buried in the local cemetery. Opera singer (1920's to 1940's) Richard Bonelli was born here as Richard Bunn.

Hours of operation
Due to a small membership, the Society has very limited hours. The Historical Society is open during the spring, summer and fall on Thursday mornings from 10 till noon. Monthly meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month at 7pm from April until December. The building can be opened by appointment by calling the President at the number listed below. We are always happy to help and we will do our best to aid you in your research, even if that means just giving you hints as to where to research and what might be available. Given notice, we have even taken visitors on a tour of the village and town.

Contact information
Society President- Chick Walker 315-776-4027

For email inquiries about the Lock 52 Historical Society, please contact Mike Riley at mmriley@tds.net. Mike can help you with questions related to canals, railroads, deed and probate research, and census look ups.

Town and Village Historians
The Port Byron NY Village Historian is Dawn Roe. You can contact Dawn at:
5 Valley Drive
Port Byron, NY 13140
(315) 776-8446
beatatune@tds.net
Dawn also maintains a blog at http://www.portbyronhistorian.com/

Memberships
The Society is in need of members. What we are able to do is limited by our low membership, so we encourage current residents and those who have family ties here to support our efforts. Membership is $5.00 for individuals and $8.00 for families. Donations are always welcome. Mail your name, address, phone and email to: Hellen Davies, 1649 Davies Lane, Port Byron, NY 13140.

Village and Town Information
Port Byron is a village of 1500, located about 25 miles west of Syracuse on Route 31 and 7 miles north of Auburn on Route 38. The village sits at the center of the Town of Mentz. The town has a population of about 2000. Mentz was formed out of the larger town of Brutus and it is comprised of military lots 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 60, 61, 62, 63, 71, 72, 73, 74, 82, 83, 84, and 85, with the village being made up of small parts of lots 61, 62, 72 and much of 73. There were two smaller settlements located in the town; Centerport and Hayden Mills. Centerport is located about a mile to the east of Port Byron, on the line of the canal. It was a place where boats could dock to pick up or discharge cargo. There was a small agricultural manufacturer, a store house and grocery, plus a number of homes. Hayden Mills was located about two miles south of the village on the Owasco Outlet. The Hayden family had a large textile mill there and there were a small number of homes.

Port Byron was a village on the Erie Canal and canal remains can be found in and around the village and town. East of the village, the enlarged canal can be seen at Schasel Park. There you will find a towpath walking trail that runs between Port Byron and Weedsport. It will soon be part of the New York State Canalway Trail, the cross-state recreational trail. To the west, the old canal can be followed as it passes through the muck lands, a place where onions and potatoes have been grown for generations. Port Byron was one of the very few villages where the route of the canal was changed during the enlargement of the canal in the 1850's. As such, vestiges of both canals can be found inside the village. Also to be found are remains of the West Shore Railroad, and the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Trolley line. The main line of the New York Central, which still operates as the CSX, is located about a mile to the north of the village. At one time, Port Byron was a stop on all these transportation systems.

Like its neighboring villages of Weedsport and Montezuma, Port Byron is now a bedroom community with most residents working in Syracuse or Auburn. The New York State Thruway passes through the northern edge of the village, but to get into the village from the Thruway, you will need to get off at Exit 40, the Weedsport / Auburn exit and follow the signs west to Port Byron.

Researching Mentz and Port Byron
There are a number of sources to aid your research of family, places or events in our community. Of course, the first place to check is by performing a search on the Cayuga County Genweb site. But be careful, Storke's 1879 History of Cayuga County is a fine resource, but it is not perfect and there are errors. By comparing the descriptions of Port Byron and Mentz from the 1863 and 1868 Cayuga County directories, you will see that certain sections of Storke's history is basically a rehash of what was written before. Of course, Storke goes into a lot more depth and in many instances, it is the only place you will find a mention of your pre-1879 subject. E.H. Kern updated the Town and Village history in his 1922 work, aptly titled, "History of Port Byron and Mentz." Check all these sources for information about the important people, first settlers, and events of the town.

The local paper was the Port Byron Chronicle, but unfortunately, no one in town has a full series. It use to be that one had to travel to Cornell University to view the microfilmed copies, but now the Cayuga County Historian has the paper on microfilm, and it is available on line at Old Fulton Postcards. The Old Brutus Historic Society, our close neighbor to the east in Weedsport has the Cayuga Chief in house and many times, Port Byron, Mentz and Montezuma are covered. Also, the papers of Auburn covered our local news in "neighbors" type columns.

As mentioned, Weedsport is only three miles to the east, and many families and businesses share a common history. Old Brutus maintains a very good collection of files. The Cayuga County Historian's office also has files that relate to our area. The Town maintains the local cemeteries and has the cemetery records, as well as late 1800 birth and death records, town tax records, and some maps. The Port Byron Library now has a history room and is constantly expanding its collection of newspaper articles, books, and reference materials. Also, check with the Seymour Library in Auburn for it has a very good local history study room and local newspapers on microfilm. The Bourke Library at the Cayuga County Community College has a fine local history room with census records, newspapers, and thousands of books relating to local history.

The earliest maps we have of Port Byron are maps made of the new Erie Canal in 1834. These "Hutchionson" maps were made in 1834. These maps cover only the area immediately surrounding the canal, so they are limited in scope. The surveyor's field books for these maps still exist in the New York State Archives in Albany and they sometimes show even more information then the finalized published maps. There are the 1853, 1859, 1875 and 1904 maps available on the genweb site. At the Bird Library at Syracuse University, one can find the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, covering mostly the business sections of the village. These date from 1870 to 1930.

The Cayuga County Clerk's Office has deed books back to the beginning of settlement in the county and many times the old deeds contain a great deal of information about the seller and buyer, surrounding property owners, and even wills. Port Byron went through a lot during the Erie Canal enlargement in the late 1850's and the nearby owners filed damage claims against the state. These continued throughout the canal era, so be sure to look for not only land sales, but damage awards. Similar situations occurred during the building of the Rochester to Syracuse trolley and West Shore Railroad lines. Also be sure to check wills and probate records in the Records Retention Office.

And of course, you will want to check with the Port Byron village and the Mentz town Historians, as well as the Lock 52 Historical Society. The Society would like to increase the collection of Port Byron, and Mentz family histories, so that we can help others in the future. Please consider sharing your family information with us.