History

In May, 1789, eleven settlers comprised of the Stansel and Featherly families arrived by flat boat and built a log cabin where the Outlet pours into the Qanargua Creek to form the Clyde River. Soon there were a half dozen cabins at what these early settlers called "The Forks". Captain Charles Williamson, an agent for a British syndicate headed by Sir William Puitney, named the new settlement Lyons in 1795. It is reported that Williamson stated, "This is in miniature the union of the Rivers Rhone and Saone in France so I shall call the town I build here Lyons". In 1796 Williamson began laying out the village with straight wide streets centering around a public square. In 1812 there were 60 families in the new settlement. With the creation of Wayne County in 1823, Lyons was chosen as the County seat and a Court House was constructed on the east side in what is now the Village Park. The building was later removed and in 1854 a new Court House was completed on the north side of Church Street and has been in continuous use since then.

A Look Back

Lyons was incorporated as a Village in 1831 through an act of the New York State Legislature and the first elected President (Mayor) was DeWitt Parshall. Transportation has played a vital role in the growth and prosperity of Lyons. In 1799 the New-York State Legislature designated the Clyde River and Ganargua Creek as official highways. The first actual highway was constructed from Lyons to Sodus Point and then to Geneva where stage coaches connected Lyons to points south. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and pumped commercial lifeblood into Lyons. The first ditch ran through the heart of the village with Canal Street mark-ing its path. The second, or enlarged Erie Canal of the 1850's was re-routed and followed a path along what is now Clyde Road. Today's Erie Canal, dug in the early 1900's more or less follows the path of the Clyde River. Railroads entered Lyons in 1853 with the building of the New York Central Railroad and this mainline soon became an important junction with the Corning Division south into Pennsylvania. Large yards were located east of Geneva Street and south along the Coming Division. In the 1880's another railroad, the West Shore, was completed south of the New York Central mainline. This line was abandoned in the 1960's and the New York Central is now part of the Conrail System. In later years the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Railways ran electric trolley cars through the heart of the Village following the path of the old Erie Canal. This service was discontinued in 1929 but the station remains in use on Geneva Street. In addition to the Stansels and Featherlys, names associated with Lyons and its early growing days include: Charles Williamson, Daniel Dorsey, Myron Holley, Hiram G. Hotchkiss, James Dunn, William and Myron C. Taylor, Dewitt Parshall, Samuel Hecox, John Riggs, VanRenselaer Richmond, the Duehier brothers, S.B. Gavitt, William Sisson, John Perrine, Col. Ira Mirick. There are many other too numerous to mention, but these are just a few of the names from the 18th and 19th century who helped make Lyons the "Shire Town of Wayne County." In his book. The Towpath, Arch Merrill described Lyons: "There, once upon a time, flowered an old regime, a gracious way of life, a social elegance and cultural interest that was distinctively Lvons".