Old Mentz Heritage Center

We are a non-profit 501(c)3 chartered historical society organization chartered through the New York State Education Department. We merged two active historical societies in the neighboring Towns of Mentz and Montezuma and the Village of Port Byron. A large part of our mission is to collect, preserve, and make available to researchers, items and artifacts that relate to the history of the region and the people who have lived and worked here.

Our volunteers help share the history of the Towns of Mentz, Montezuma and the Village of Port Byron. We are an all volunteer organization with a board of trustees. We collect and manage local family files, photos, postcards, cemetery records, maps, scrap books, tax, school and church records. We rotate small exhibits, and offer historical educational programs held at our location, 97 Main Street in Port Byron. Volunteers also help clean local cemetery headstones. We also support the Town of Montezuma by volunteering in Montezuma Heritage Park to help maintain the trails and promote the Erie Canal history in our communities.