Welcome to the History Corner!
Celebrating the rich history of Port Byron, New York, an old Erie Canal village in the Town of Mentz. This site is dedicated to the legacy and heritage of our community as well as a variety of regional historical tidbits. I hope you enjoy your visit and will stop by again.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Centerport Detour

Here's an interesting post that I know the Centerport residents will appreciate, it provides a clue as to when the road between Port Byron and Centerport was paved:


SYRACUSE JOURNAL   MONDAY OCTOBER 22, 1917

AS STATE REPORTS ROAD CONDITIONS

Port Byron -Weedsport — Work In progress. Leave Port Byron for Weedsport on new concrete pavement to Centerport.  At Centerport four corners turn south one-eighth mile, crossing Erie Canal, taking first left hand turn to Weedsport. Detour posted.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Stranded

Today we travel between places without giving it any thought but can you imagine a time when you could get stranded in Port Byron and it would be considered news?  That is exactly what happened to a theater company in 1908:

THE SYRACUSE HERALD  JULY 8, 1908

The Percey-Norman Stock company which has been playing at the Auditorium Annex, is stranded in Port Byron. After paying the fares of the fourteen members of the company to Port Byron the manager had 45 cents.   There were sixteen paid admissions to see the show and so the actors were unable to get back to Auburn.  The boy who sings the solos between the acts managed to get a ride to the city after he had done his turn, while the others, sitting as a committee of the whole, are trying to devise ways and means.

Here's some background from Billboard Publications, 1908