PORT BYRON - Walking through Port Byron now, it's difficult to envision a town bustling with life and energy and commerce. Contemporary Port Byron is but a shell of what it once was.
The grand hotels and rich waterway trade that attracted visitors from all over the state have long since left. Industrialists' mansions from the 19th century have been boarded up or subdivided to multi-family dwellings.
But for an hour on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon, Port Byron returned to its glory days thanks to Mentz town historian Mike Riley and his walking tour of the so-called "canal district."
The tour, which drew 20 people from Port Byron, Throop, Scipio and beyond, was the kick-off event for the Port Byron Revitalization Committee's efforts to breathe life back into the community. Beginning in June, the committee will be hosting its first annual weekly farmer's market, and will continue working on events to reinvigorate the town.
Riley, who has only lived in Port Byron for three years and serves on the revitalization committee, led walkers on a one-mile tour, hitting spots on the old Erie Canal. The canal is a particular passion for Riley, who works for the Cayuga County Soil and Water District as the Americorps field supervisor.
The tour wasn't just about Riley ticking off facts about the route, but rather it served as an information dissemination activity. Riley encouraged community members to ask questions and add any knowledge they had about particular streets or houses. The walk was more interactive than most tours are, as Riley took notes on what the locals had to say.
"We want you as a community to help put together this tour," he said.
Riley's goal is to someday write an extensive history book of Port Byron that includes contemporary times, or life after the canal.
The Erie Canal was built between 1817 and 1825 and originally measured 40 feet wide by four feet deep. At that time, Port Byron was called Bucksville, after the town's first settler, Aholiab Buck.
In 1832, the town's name was changed to Port Byron to reflect a more cosmopolitan area that had changed and grew since the canal snaked through it.
But when New York state enlarged the canal in 1856 to accommodate bigger boats, the section of water that ran through Port Byron was rerouted out of the business district. While Riley said business owners on the old canal were compensated, that move was the beginning of hard times for the town.
"It really hurt Port Byron when the canal moved. The devastation caused by the loss of the canal was great," Riley said.
Many of the walkers, like George Wethey, county highway supervisor from Throop, already knew a lot about Port Byron's canal history. Wethey, a Port Byron native, came to hear Riley's perspective and perhaps learn a new fact or two.
"I thought it would be interesting to get Mike's spin on it. He carries a lot of knowledge about the canal," he said.
Wethey himself could have given the tour, noting to other walkers the history of his old four-square house, which was on the tour route.
Other local historians joined Riley on the tour, including Cayuga County historian Sheila Tucker and Scipio town historian Sandie Gilleland, who came to get some ideas for possible events in the south county. She would like to highlight Scipio's railroad history or possibly its one-room schoolhouses for future projects.
The houses on River Street, many of which have seen better days, belie their collective canal history. Many of the yards that are now occupied by Rottweilers and Doberman pinschers, snarling at passersby, used to abut the old canal. Listening to Riley, you can almost see the thriving daily life that took place here almost 200 years ago.
For those on the walk, what Port Byron has become doesn't concern them as much as what it will become. Gilleland understands that clearly.
"That's the thing about little towns," she said. "You take them, warts and all."
Riley has faith in better things to come for Port Byron. He has to, or he wouldn't be putting so much time in to it.
"There's still life down here."
Staff writer Lauren Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or lauren.ober@lee.net
But for an hour on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon, Port Byron returned to its glory days thanks to Mentz town historian Mike Riley and his walking tour of the so-called "canal district."
The tour, which drew 20 people from Port Byron, Throop, Scipio and beyond, was the kick-off event for the Port Byron Revitalization Committee's efforts to breathe life back into the community. Beginning in June, the committee will be hosting its first annual weekly farmer's market, and will continue working on events to reinvigorate the town.
Riley, who has only lived in Port Byron for three years and serves on the revitalization committee, led walkers on a one-mile tour, hitting spots on the old Erie Canal. The canal is a particular passion for Riley, who works for the Cayuga County Soil and Water District as the Americorps field supervisor.
The tour wasn't just about Riley ticking off facts about the route, but rather it served as an information dissemination activity. Riley encouraged community members to ask questions and add any knowledge they had about particular streets or houses. The walk was more interactive than most tours are, as Riley took notes on what the locals had to say.
"We want you as a community to help put together this tour," he said.
Riley's goal is to someday write an extensive history book of Port Byron that includes contemporary times, or life after the canal.
The Erie Canal was built between 1817 and 1825 and originally measured 40 feet wide by four feet deep. At that time, Port Byron was called Bucksville, after the town's first settler, Aholiab Buck.
In 1832, the town's name was changed to Port Byron to reflect a more cosmopolitan area that had changed and grew since the canal snaked through it.
But when New York state enlarged the canal in 1856 to accommodate bigger boats, the section of water that ran through Port Byron was rerouted out of the business district. While Riley said business owners on the old canal were compensated, that move was the beginning of hard times for the town.
"It really hurt Port Byron when the canal moved. The devastation caused by the loss of the canal was great," Riley said.
Many of the walkers, like George Wethey, county highway supervisor from Throop, already knew a lot about Port Byron's canal history. Wethey, a Port Byron native, came to hear Riley's perspective and perhaps learn a new fact or two.
"I thought it would be interesting to get Mike's spin on it. He carries a lot of knowledge about the canal," he said.
Wethey himself could have given the tour, noting to other walkers the history of his old four-square house, which was on the tour route.
Other local historians joined Riley on the tour, including Cayuga County historian Sheila Tucker and Scipio town historian Sandie Gilleland, who came to get some ideas for possible events in the south county. She would like to highlight Scipio's railroad history or possibly its one-room schoolhouses for future projects.
The houses on River Street, many of which have seen better days, belie their collective canal history. Many of the yards that are now occupied by Rottweilers and Doberman pinschers, snarling at passersby, used to abut the old canal. Listening to Riley, you can almost see the thriving daily life that took place here almost 200 years ago.
For those on the walk, what Port Byron has become doesn't concern them as much as what it will become. Gilleland understands that clearly.
"That's the thing about little towns," she said. "You take them, warts and all."
Riley has faith in better things to come for Port Byron. He has to, or he wouldn't be putting so much time in to it.
"There's still life down here."
Staff writer Lauren Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or lauren.ober@lee.net
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