Mentz is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Native American tribes in the Iroq ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 2,114 at the 2020 census. The town is in the central part of the county, 7 miles north of Auburn.The town's name has never been determined, but it is locally believed that it derived from

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, in Germany.

History

The town was formed in 1802 as the "Town of Jefferson" from the town of

Aurelius The gens Aurelia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which flourished from the third century BC to the latest period of the Empire. The first of the Aurelian gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Aurelius Cotta in 252 BC. From then to the ...

while still part of

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. The county is part of the Central New York region of the state. Onondaga County is the core of the ...

. On March 30, 1808, the town was renamed to Mentz, as too many towns, villages, and a county had taken the name of Jefferson to honor the past president. The town is part of the Military Tract, and much of the land was given to soldiers who had served in the Revolutionary War. The first settlers built their homes around the Owasco Outlet, which is the outflow of

Owasco Lake Owasco Lake is the sixth largest and third easternmost of the Finger Lakes of New York in the United States. History Owasco Lake's name may have been derived from the Iroquois word ''dwas-co'', meaning ''bridge on the water''. The name may al ...

, one of the smaller

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

. The Owasco Outlet flows to the Seneca River, which serves as the northern border of the town. The settlers used the Outlet for transportation and for milling. The

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

was built through the town in 1819 and was opened to traffic in 1820, with service between Montezuma and Utica. The new

fostered rapid growth and the settlement that had built up around the Outlet was given the name of Bucksville. The post office was given the name of Port Byron to honor the late poet

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, and soon Bucksville was renamed as Port Byron. On March 2, 1837, the community of Port Byron set itself apart from Mentz by incorporating as a village. The town also had a number of smaller communities. In 1859 the town of Mentz was divided into Mentz, Montezuma and Throop. Today, the town serves mostly as a bedroom community for the cities of Auburn, Syracuse and Rochester.

Transportation

In 1853, the New York Central Railroad was constructed through the northern lands of the town, about one mile north of the village. A depot and hotel were built along the tracks and the area was given the name of North Port Byron. in 1884, the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway was built through the town, closely following the route of its competitor, the New York Central. The "West Shore" built a depot on the northern border of the village. Service ended on the West Shore in the 1950s. The Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Interurban was built through the town in 1907. The company went out of business in 1931. The towpath version of the

was enlarged in 1857 and again in 1896. In 1917, the Erie Canal was moved to the canalized Seneca River, where it remains today. The east-west NY Route 31, which was the old Montezuma Turnpike, passes through the center of the town and village of Port Byron. The north-south NY Route 38 passes through the town and village. The

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

was constructed in the 1950s and passes through the town on an east-west alignment, closely following the route of the Erie Canal. The nearest access exit, Exit 40, is 4 miles to the east in Weedsport. The Port Byron Service Plaza is located two miles west of the village near the Mentz/Montezuma border. The Old Erie Canal Heritage Park was built as an attraction on the Thruway and lies on the western border of the village.

Notable people

* John W. DeGroff, Wisconsin politician, born in Mentz *

Isaac Singer Isaac Merritt Singer (October 27, 1811 – July 23, 1875) was an American inventor, actor, and businessman. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of what became one of the first American multi-na ...

, sewing machine manufacturer *

Henry Wells Henry Wells (December 12, 1805 – December 10, 1878) was an American businessman important in the history of both the American Express Company and Wells Fargo & Company. Wells worked as a freight agent before joining the express business. Hi ...

, partner in Wells-Fargo *

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

, the

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

leader, lived briefly in the town between 1825 and 1829. The house he rented still stands and is owned by the Brigham Young family. He also built a second house in the village, which also remains in use. *In 1997,

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

Bill Jones was convicted of official misconduct and a gun charge, but vanished before his sentencing. He hid in southern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

with his girlfriend, at one point living on land owned by Fredericka Wagner, who was implicated in the Pike County shootings. In January 2021 he was arrested after being taken to a hospital and remanded to New York State.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.51%, is water. The northern town line is defined by the Seneca River.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,446 people, 932 households, and 676 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 999 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.52%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.94%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.41% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.65% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.64% of the population. There were 932 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,398, and the median income for a family was $36,637. Males had a median income of $31,500 versus $20,172 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $15,494. About 9.4% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Mentz

*Haydenville was built 2 miles south of Port Byron on the bank of the Owasco Outlet. This settlement was built around a large woolen mill that used the outlet for power and production. *Throopsville was another milling place along the Owasco Outlet, about 5 miles south of Port Byron. *Centerport was built on the east side of the town along the Erie Canal. The name was taken as it was centered between Weedsport and Port Byron. The principle industry was the manufacture of

grain cradle A grain cradle or ''cradle'', is a modification to a standard scythe to keep the cut grain stems aligned. The cradle scythe has an additional arrangement of fingers attached to the snaith (snath or snathe) to catch the cut grain so that it can be ...

s, using water from a canal feeder as power for the mill. Centerport also served as shipping point on the canal. *Montezuma was located about 3 miles west of Port Byron on the bank of the Seneca River. The early settlement was a shipping center on the Seneca river, which was the principle east-west transportation route prior to the construction of the Erie Canal. The hamlet was also known for its salt production from brine wells. *High Bridge / Fox Ridge was a area along the New York Central Railroad. *North Port Byron – A hamlet north of Port Byron village on NY Route 38. * Port Byron – The village of Port Byron is at the intersection of NY-31 and NY-38, immediately south of the Thruway. Port Byron grew to prominence as a port on the Erie Canal, but the canal was abandoned in 1917 when the route was moved to the Seneca River.

References

External links

Town of Mentz, Cayuga County, New York

History of Port Byron and Mentz
{{authority control Populated places established in 1802 Towns in Cayuga County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1802 establishments in New York (state)