Re-opening the Doors of History at Erie House By Tom Prindle The Van Detro brothers stand on the porch of Erie House, a canal-side hotel operated from 1894 to 1917.
eople dri ving east on the New York State Thruway may g limpse a gray stone structure standing off the shoulder just east of the Port Byron Travel Pl aza. Though it looks like the work of ancient Druids, a sign identifi es the impos ing maso nry as "Site of O ld Eri e Canal-Lock 52 ."A full 130 years before the Governor Dewey Thru way was built, Governor DeWitt Clinton built the Eri e Canal and, though Lock 52 is actuall y a reli c of the first enlargement of the Erie Canal, it stands as a spl endid monument to the vision of past generati ons-those who opened transportati on to the Weste rn frontier and " builded c iti es and peopled plain s." I like to think that Lock 52 prompts singing from the backseat about low bridges and a mu le named Sal, and rekindles motorists' memories of hi to ry lessons learned long ago. Belated thanks are offered to the enli ghtened minds who saved Lock 52 during constructi on of the Thru way in the 1950s and to the Thruway Authority fo r maintain ing the site as a visual history lesson fo r trave lers of today. Legacies of cana l heritage are too often obscured fro m view or simpl y overl ooked. Nevertheless, many thousands who pass by Lock 52 are unaware that camoufl aged in the trees the canal heritage of the Empire State is richl y preserved in the setting of an o ld upstate vill age with the ro mantic name of Port Byron. In its heyday, Port Byron ri valed Syracuse in commercial importance, as visitors taking the time to explore will di scover. The center of the vill age is lined with class ic canal-era buildings anddomi -
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nated by aramblingwhitestructure which was once a grand hote l. The antique shop on the corner, where Rt. 3 1 takes a sharp turn, was the scene of celebration in 1825 when DeWitt Clinton came through town aboard the Seneca Chief on his way to New York Harbor. Remains of his famous ditch and its successor, the EnJ arged Erie Canal, undulate thro ugh the village, still pointing toward Lake Erie. Remains of Original and Enlarged Erie Canal aqueducts that spanned the Owasco Creek Feeder, can still be seen on either side of the Rt. 31 bridge.Visitors to Pott Byron learn of past residents who went on to fame and fortune li ke Henry Wells of Wells Fargo and Brigham Young. Port Byro n's best preserved and most interesting site stands next to Lock 52 in a cover of trees, its backs ide barely visibl e from the Thru way. To motori sts it appears to be j ust another ru ral upstate
house, yet, to boatmen pass ing th ro ugh Port Byron at the turn of the century, thi s was the Erie Canal' s equi vale nt to a Thru way T ravel Plaza.
The Erie House of Port Byron If yo u were travelin g th rough Port Byro n in 1900 on the Erie Canal, yo u wo uld have co me upon a clapboard bu il ding with a tall , narrow, storefront facade. Two large windows looked out over the canal towpath which passed by the fro nt door. A sign perched high above the entrance proc laimed in fancy lettering that yo u had arri ved at Eri e House, a fa mili ar and well-frequented canal-s ide saloon and hote l. Erie House was a respectable establishment owned and operated by Peter Van Detto an Italian immi grant who, with his brother Salvatore, made hi s way to America and central New York in the 1880s. Mr. Van Detto built
SEA HISTORY 72, WINTER 1994-95