The Changing Landscape in 1918

The spring of 1918 would be very different for the three canal villages of Cayuga County. No longer would water fill the canal that had helped to shape the villages 98 years prior. No longer would the citizens hear the sound of tin horns blown by the passing boatmen....

Spring Newsletter and Appeal

It’s spring appeal time again! Yes, we know, no one likes to be asked for money, and believe me, no one likes asking you for money. But the Society does need your support. We can’t survive without your help. So if you enjoy what we do, ask yourself if it...

The National Bank of Port Byron

November 29, 1924 was a big day in Port Byron. The doors of the new National Bank of Port Byron were to open for it’s first public inspection. All were welcome, in fact, all were encouraged to come and see “one of the finest and best looking buildings between New York...

Lila Fields

The beautiful woman, blue eyes a-twinkle with untold deviltry relished her shocking disclosures to unsuspecting listeners: She lived in a fraternity house and wore pants before it was proper for a lady to do so. Scandalous! Eyebrows jumped sufficiently high at these...

Armistice Day 1918

On November 11, 1918, someone has the foresight to capture the Armistice Day celebration in Port Byron, here called the “Peace Day celebration Nov. 11, 1918”. Then they wrote a caption on the other; “Peace, a small gathering for songs, yells, noise,...

The Tale of the Run-away Teen

Sixty-three years ago, police departments all across the Untied States were on the lookout for a Port Byron teenager who had disappeared from the village without a trace. It’s one of those little stories that sit in the files of that Lock 52 Historical Society that...