by portbyro | May 16, 2026 | Uncategorized
In the Old Mentz Heritage Center collections, we have hundreds of images that show the “downtown” business area of Port Byron, but few that show the businesses outside that core area. It seems as though few people wanted to cross the Owasco Outlet to see what was on...
by portbyro | Jan 23, 2026 | Uncategorized
Well maybe. But first, I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Frances “Fanny” Preston Root. She was the wife of Samuel Root and, like many of our central New York early settlers, she was born in Connecticut before moving to Port Byron, back in the days when it was...
by portbyro | Jan 22, 2026 | Uncategorized
Over the past few months, I have been taking a deep dive into how, and how not to, use AI for my research into my family history. It really is an immersive learning curve where you jump in the deep end and try to swim. In our January, 2026 Genealogical Gatherings at...
by portbyro | Aug 9, 2025 | Uncategorized
This kind of fits with our yearlong look at all things canals, I hope. In past articles, I have written about how the route of the Erie Canal was changed in the village of Port Byron in 1857/58 during the canal enlargement of 1836-1862. For the village businesses that...
by portbyro | Jun 10, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Old Mentz Heritage Center Family Project has been created by merging previously existing projects from the Montezuma Historical Society and Lock 52 Historical Society who merged in 2024. Because these projects were created on different platforms, merging them...