Mansions of The Past

The Syracuse Morning Standard, Syracuse, NY, Tuesday Morning, May 4, 1880

In the Weedsport Column appeared:

W. W. Mack, of Rochester, brother and partner of S. J. Mack, has purchased the Smith residence at Port Byron, and will make it his present summer residence and  probably a permanent home in the near future.  This mansion originally cost $80,000 but the price paid for it was less than one-fourth of this sum, if current report is  correct.

($80,000.00 in 1880 would have the purchase power of $1,730,000.00 as of 2009 based on CPI) 


Auburn, NY Argus 1895-1897

Coroner A. D. Stewart has purchased the Chas. Smith mansion in Pine street, and will establish a hospital therein; Consideration $2,200.

($2,200.00 in 1886 would have the purchase power of $51,800.00 as of 2009 based on CPI)

The New Year

Our website has had a slight change but our mission remains steadfast in promoting and preserving the rich history of the Port Byron, NY area.  In reviewing the stats over the past year, our website has had regular visits from the following locations:

Australia
Canada
Germany
India
Japan
Latvia
Moldova
Netherlands
Romania
Russia
Singapore
Sweden
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States

Therefore, it seemed appropriate to change our website from Port Byron Historian to Port Byron History, to better reflect our content.  The change went very smoothly.  Our new website is http://www.portbyronhistory.com/ with no loss in content, all of your favorite features and articles are here for your enjoyment.

With this change, we also updated our Facebook group to Port Byron History.  Many of the original posts can still be found in the note section.  Thank you for your participation on Facebook, where posts averaged about 1,000 viewings each.  That is amazing!

It's the start of a bright New Year with a fresh start for Port Byron History.  We look forward to seeing you in our fan club on Facebook.  Thank you for your loyal support and we shall enjoy the upcoming year as we celebrate a wonderful place called Port Byron, NY.

Port Byron High School 1899-1935

The Port Byron High School was dedicated on Tuesday, January 16, 1900.  It replaced the Port Byron Free Academy that was lost to fire in November 1898 at this same location.  The architect was C. E. Crandall of Rochester, NY.  The building was heated and ventilated with a Smeed-Norcot heating system and had running water on both floors.  The Smeed Heating System was widely used in schools and other public buildings, its furnace generated heat by heating air.  The building cost "nearly $16,500.00" (equivalent to "nearly" $440,000.00 based on 2009 CPI).  The structure was described as housing 450 pupils, consisting of two floors with basement, six large study rooms, a laboratory, library and multiple recitation rooms. 

Many will be surprised to learn that some pupils from Brutus attended our school here.  In our early history, we were a progressive place.  Woman started to serve on our Board of Education in the year 1890, before woman even had the right to vote.  Helen Hadger Root was a teacher and among the first woman to serve on the school board.  Her husband William H. Root a past Board of Education Member was present when both the Free Academy as well as the High School was dedicated.