This village was once known as King's Settlement after Philip King who was also the first white settler of the town. The village name would quickly change to Bucksville after the Buck family. In the spring of 1798 Aholiab Buck, the first settler in the corporate limits of the village settled on River Street. He was a native of Pennsylvania and came here from Chemung County, NY.
The settlement names would develop into an incorporated village that is today known as the village of Port Byron. The signs located in the village triangle indicate it was renamed in 1825 to Port Byron, possibly in honor of Lord Byron who died in 1824. Some published sources indicate that it assumed its present name due to the village's role as a shipping point along the Erie Canal.
When looking at the 1830 census, there is no indication that anyone with the first or last name of Byron resided here, supporting the reference to Lord Byron. The insertion of Port certainly would be indicative of the connections to the Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825. Storke's History of Cayuga County indicates that our present name was assumed as early as 1832. Perhaps our name is derived from both. To this day, the inspiration behind the name change of the village has not been proven. The Village of Port Byron was Incorporated in 1837.
Our village is located within the town of Mentz. The first white settler was Philip King, a Revolutionary War soldier, a native of Rhode Island, who came here in 1797 from Saratoga County after being awarded a land grant for his service during the war. He settled on Lot 72 just west of the village limits.
The township was once part of Aurelius, reorganized as the Town of Jefferson in 1802 and renamed Mentz in 1808. In 1859 sections were removed from Mentz to establish the township of Montezuma as well as a portion of Throop.
For researchers, this information is valuable as all residents of present day Mentz would appear in the 1800 census as Aurelius. Present day Throop and Montezuma residents prior to 1860 would appear in the census under Mentz from 1802 until 1859 and as Aurelius in the year 1800. To properly determine if someone had moved between townships during this time period, researchers are encouraged to consult land deeds or tax assessment records.
