The Canal Route Change of 1857

In the 1850’s, a battle of wills ensued in Port Byron over the route of the canal that led to great harm in the business district of the village. What is odd is that this battle seemed to be waged by local landowners with the support of State engineers. In the 1931 obituary of Mrs. Harriet Johnson, who died at the age of 102, the paper wrote, “[She] was 28 years of age when the Erie Canal was enlarged from 40 to 70 feet. She remembered the squabble that took place among the residents of her village about the enlargement of the waterway. Some advocated the enlargement along a circuitous route and others a new and direct route. The will of the latter finally prevailed and the channel was cut through the most beautiful part of the village.”

            When the State decided to enlarge the canal in the mid 1830’s, it was understood that many mistakes had been made in the original construction of the canal and that the enlargement of the canal would allow for many of these mistakes to be corrected. One of the biggest problems with the old canal was the winding nature of the construction. It seemed that any obstacle that the original builders faced was simply bypassed by going around it. So in places the canal turned in ninety degree bends. This made it difficult for mule teams to pull the boats as they went around the tight bends and even more importantly, the twists even made it difficult for the water to flow and refill the canal. It was a mess. The rebuilding would give the State the chance to remove these curves as they enlarged the canal from 40 to 70 feet in width. In the end, so many bends were straightened that the canal was shortened by fifteen miles by the time the enlargement was complete between Albany and Buffalo.

            Unfortunately for Port Byron, the village was located on a curve, and it seems that some in the community saw an opportunity to profit if they could convince the State Engineers to move the route of the canal from the business district to the “flats” slightly north of the settled area. This flew in the face of canal law, which forbade any movement of the canal away from business areas; even it meant leaving a problem area in place. The curve that Port Byron sat on was in reality quite small and if removed would only save about a third of a mile in distance. But some in the village wanted the canal moved and petitioned the State. They got Canal Commissioner Fitzhugh to agree to the change in the route even though it went against the canal law. The businessmen of the village, the men who needed the canal to keep the money flowing, protested and got the Canal Board to reverse this decision and put the route back to the old route. This move put the canal back in the business district. But then the contractors who were hired by the State to build the new route sued and got the route changed once again. After all was said and done, the new proponents of the new route won. To satisfy some in the community, mainly the large mill, a stub of the old canal was left intact, however, it was not enlarged. After the mill burned and no one used the stub, it was quickly abandoned and the businessmen were paid off for the loss of the canal.

It took eight years to settle this matter, and all through this time, shippers west of Syracuse had to continue to use the smaller “pre-enlargement” boats since the canal through Port Byron wasn’t deep or wide enough to use the bigger boats. Shippers then began to use the Oswego route, robbing businessmen from Port Byron west to Buffalo the chance to ship larger loads on the canal. Thus, the mess at Port Byron became a state wide concern as it dragged on through the years.

Once the enlarged canal was completed in 1858, the larger boats could be used to ship to Rochester and Buffalo, but they couldn’t reach the businesses of the village. The village didn’t die, but it was harmed by the loss.

This 1857 map shows the two routes along with the original canal, all laid over a image taken from Google Earth. We thank Bill Hecht for doing this.

Shop Local!

The downtown of Port Byron has certainly had its up and downs. The old photographs and postcards show stores, restaurants, and garages, and all the needs to serve the local population. But it is safe to say that prior to 1920, the local stores were well patronized as they really were the only option. However, once the trolley line started service between Port Byron and Auburn, or even to Syracuse and Rochester, the locals had many more choices as to where to shop. And at the same time, automobiles were becoming more accessible, and the roads were getting better. Hence, we have a push by the local shops to get shoppers to shop local. These ads certainly reflect that push. The top ad is from Christmas in 1922. Need a last minute gift? Don't run to Auburn, shop here!

I ran the two page ad in another post, so you may have seen it before, but not in this context. It comes from 1932. Port Byron, like the rest of the world, was in the grips of a depression. This amazing spread shows almost every business and shop in the village, and lays it out; "Let's All Get Together and Boost Port Byron".

The struggle of the small local business to survive in a much bigger world has been going on for 90 years.

Mike Chuttey's Map; Circa 1930

Some times in history we get to say Wow! and Huh! at the same time. Some times a artifact will answer a question and also create more questions. Here is a great example.

Mike Chuttey was born in Centralia PA in 1905 to Jacob and Mary. Shortly after, the family moved to Auburn and then finally settling in Throop. (If you don't know about Centralia, click the link) Around 1922 or 1925, Mike became a signalman on the New York Central RR. He died in1958 at the age of 53, still working for the railroad.

His work station was east in the Albany area, so he commuted each week. It is likely that he was able to hitch a ride on the trains, catching them at the station in Port Byron. (Port Byron had stations both on the West Shore and the NYC mainline. The West Shore was owned by the NYC.) At first, accroding to family lore, he may have been taking the Auburn and Northern Trolley from Throop to Port Byron, but when the line went out of business in 1930, we don't know what he did. Likely there was a bus route. He and his wife are mentioned quite a number of times as visiting people in Port Byron, so he had some knowledge of the village.

Sometime after 1931, Mike used the backside of one of his NYC waybills to draw a map of downtown Port Byron. The big question is why he drew the map. Was he showing someone something, much like we sketch out a map on an piece of paper; or was he just doodling? You can see that he carefully named all the stores on the west side of Main Street, but none on the east side. He leaves out the two large hotels and the mincemeat plant, but includes the location of a fire hydrant on Pine Street. He also notes where the nearest hospital is (Auburn), all the churches, and the auto repair shops.

What made me say wow was how Mike noted the location of the Main Street Garage and Ware's Garage. You might recall from a previous post that the Main Street Garage is a bit of a mystery. We cannot place where the first garage was located, and I am not sure if the location noted here solves that mystery. But we do know that Ware sold the business and opened another and this map shows that. We did not know until now that he had a garage in one of the old canal warehouses.

We also don't know if Mike Chuttey was trying to draw out what was at the time, or what used to be. Perhaps he drew this in 1940 attempting to recall what the village was like in 1920. You see how the map raises more questions then it answers.

 Here is a newspaper ad from 1932 that ran in the Chronicle. Remember that this is during the height of the depression, so getting people to shop was key. (also remember that you can click on the image and it will get bigger) It is fun to see what you use to be able to purchase in Port Byron.

We have a few photos of the downtown taken during this period. If I was good at dating cars, I could give a better date for the photos. You can see the historical markers in the park in front of the Hotel. Those were installed in 1932.

In the end, Mike Chuttey placed the map in one of his railroad books. Years later, his grandson Brian found it. He has donated it to the Historical Society.  For this, we thank both the Grandfather for drawing the map, and Grandson for the gift.

Peace Day Celebration

Two photos found it the Port Byron Telephone collection. These are of the gathering following the news that the great war was over. The top photo says, "Peace Day Celebration Nov. 11, 1918". The bottom photo says " A small gathering for songs, yells, noise, prayers".

Snow and then some 1919 & 1920

I found this in the collection the Society received from the PB Telephone Company. The store on the right side was Crane's Department  Store.

Downtown in the 1950's

Again, I am not very good at dating cars, but I will guess that this view is from the late 1950's. We don't have a lot of photographs from this time period, so it is nice to see this one.

Downtown 1940's?

I am not good with dating cars and trucks, so I know someone will be able to give me a better date. This is from the Port Byron Telephone Company collection. A nice look at the downtown area in an era we don't see often.

Looking North from the Masonic Block

We don't see many views of the buildings along Main Street north of the Masonic Block. This is a very clear photo that contains many details. I like the open drains along the street. No trolley tracks but a gas pump, so we can say maybe circa 1910.

HJ Foster's-

This ad was taken from the Port Byron Chronicle, November 27, 1915. I certainly hope that this was not Foster's store, but rather a nice place for a sign.
This photo is looking at the southwest corner of Routes 38 and 31, or where the Pit Stop is today.