Old Mentz Heritage Center

05/27/2026

Here is another from Cierra Short's collection. Note that the hotel does not have all the advertisements for lunch and dinner that was featured in the last post.

05/24/2026

We have a lot to talk about at this months Genealogical Gatherings at the Port Byron Library . Where is Elm Stump in Cortland County? Is the Civil War photos site worth your time? Who was Eliza Morgan and how did we use AI to give us clues? And we have more tax records available on the website! See you at 2:30 on Wednesday.

05/23/2026

Here is another from Cierra Short's collection. Over the years, the hotel had many owners and Fred Hartwell wanted everyone to know that regular meals could be had for 50 cents!

05/23/2026

Thanks to Cheryl Longyear for this wonderful photo of Dawn Jordan as she restores our mural. We are so happy to be able to preserve this wonderful bit of community art.
This work was supported with grants from the Fred L. Emerson Foundation and Allyn Family Foundation. And, with support from our members and donors, who helped to make this happen.

05/16/2026

https://old-mentz.org/the-port-byron-creamery/
In this month's Citizen column, we take a look at the Port Byron Creamery. First opened on Green St as part of the Sennett Creamery, Guy VanAntwerp and others purchased the business as ran it for decades producing millions of pounds of butter.

A history of the Port Byron Creamery.

05/16/2026

We had a nice visit with Cierra Short this week and she showed us her family collection of photos, some of which we have not seen before. All very exciting. Here are two from the corner of Rochester and Main. The stands along the sidewalk are gas pumps.
These are very high quality copies, but that means the originals might still be out there?

05/15/2026

All seats for the tea with Martha have been filled. Thank you all. Due to space limitations at the church, we can not accept walk ups.

05/13/2026

Don't forget that Martha Washington visits Port Byron this coming Saturday.

05/06/2026

Ancestry DNA kits are now $29.00 for Mother's Day. If you have been waiting for a sale, now is the time.

05/03/2026

For all you genealogists out there, the Port Byron Library sent along a notice that to use the Family Search Catalog you will need to have an account, and will need to use that to sign in. Family Search accounts are free. Also, bring along a thumb drive so you can download what you find!