The HOLOCAUST

The Port Byron Historical Society will meet on Wednesday, March 12th at 6:30pm at the River Valley District Library, 214 S Main St in Port Byron. As an eighteen year old soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division ROY KOUSKIparticipated in the liberation of the WOBBELINConcentration Camp (east of Hamburg) on May 2, 1945 and helped care for the survivors. In addition to his many other lifetime accomplishments Mr. Kouski has dedicated himself to ensuring that the horrors of the Holocaust shall never be forgotten. Now, with the passing of time, the number of living witnesses to the Holocaust steadily diminish. Everyone is welcome to hear his story. Refreshments will be served.

A Short History of Port Byron, Illinois from the Port Byron Historical Society

The Port Byron area is the product of glaciers which sheared the tops of earlier ridges exposing limestone, coal, sandstone and clay; brought the Mississippi River to its present course carved into our 150-200 foot limestone bluffs and deposited soil from Canada 15-60 feet thick (enriched by being prairie for thousands of years) creating fertile croplands. Our forested ravines and bottomlands provided ample fuel and lumber. Port Byron was first settled in 1828 when Robert & Thomas Syms started a wood yard that supplied firewood to steamboats going between St. Louis and the lead mines of Galena (their first cabin was across from the library). Archie Allen settled on the north side of today's Port Byron that he called Canaan. Archie Allen was a colorful character who served in the Rock River Rangers in the Black Hawk War, traded with the Indians (nearby tribes included the Sauk, Meskwaki, Kickapoo, Winnebago, Pottawatomi and Ioway), he operated the first ferry in Rock Island County, served as postmaster and was a staunch opponent of slavery. The town of Port Byron was platted in 1836 by Samuel Allen (Archie's brother), Nathaniel Belcher, Moses Bailey and Dr. Patrick Gregg between Sym's Wood Yard and Canaan, purportedly named for the English poet whom Nathaniel Belcher admired. Port Byron is the oldest town name in Rock Island County. The new town acquired the post office from Canaan (which angered Archie Allen)and quickly grew, attracting many new residents from New England. Currently our oldest church building is the 1854 Congregational. Congregationalists also established the now closed 1881 Port Byron Academy, a preparatory school for Beloit College. Methodists, Lutherans and other denominations have also been important in Port Byron history. In its history, Port Byron boasted a variety of businesses and industries that included construction lime, barrel coopers, merchants, blacksmiths, grain and produce dealers, wagon makers, brick works, paint and saw mills. Port Byron was widely known for its manufacture of white lime that had an exceptional whiteness. This industry was in Port Byron for 75 years starting in the 1850s. When limestone is fired in a kiln at 1700 degrees F the carbon dioxide is calcined off leaving a quick lime. This quick lime was used in construction, to make white wash paint or to produce mortar for constructing brick and/or stone buildings. Today, Port Byron is home to the SANDSTROM Products Company, their lubricants and coatings are used world-wide in vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft and in thousands of other applications, and they are all made in Port Byron; PORT BYRON STATE BANK, founded in 1863, is the second oldest state bank in Illinois. During the Civil War an amazing 62% of eligible males served in the Union Army, Port Byron men participated in many major, and many minor, battles including Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Stone River, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and the Atlanta Campaign. Port Byron has answered our country's call in every war, large numbers served in World Wars I and II. Port Byron residents still volunteer to serve our country today. Our fallen heroes are honored every Memorial Day. Steamboats visited Port Byron from 1828 into the 20th Century. In 1861 the first railroad arrived linking Port Byron to the Rock Island Line at Port Byron Junction (now known as East Moline). When low water on the Mississippi disrupted shipping the rapids would be avoided as passengers and freight would go by rail to or from Rock Island to be reloaded on boats. In 1866 the Western Union Railroad provided service to Savanna. In the 1920s Port Byron was served by six Milwaukee Road trains daily to and from Rock Island and Savanna. Today's Port Byron is primarily a bedroom community of the Quad Cities located conveniently to Interstates 80 & 88. Its location on the Mississippi River and the Great River Road attract thousands of visitors annually. Bicyclists from all around the world ride the Great River Trail through Port Byron. A Port Byron landmark is WILL B. ROLLING, a 30 foot tall old-fashioned bicyclist. Port Byron is world-renowned for the Great River Tug Fest held each second Saturday in August. Since 1987 a 2700 foot 700 pound rope is stretched across the Mississippi River to LeClaire Iowa as 10 teams of 20 men each and a ladies' team of 25 strive to pull the rope against their opponents in the other state. There are always bands, vendors and other attractions for this three day festival. The Friday of Tug Fest is capped by a spectacular fireworks display from a sand barge in the middle of the river, this always attracts thousands of viewers on both sides of the river. Tug Fest is always a fun event.

Port Byron Historical Society Officers

February 12th the Port Byron Historical Society elected officers to serve until February, 2015: LAWRENCE BAY, president; CARL PALMER, vice president; ALICIA LEONARD, secretary, BILL GILBERT, treasurer; and directors ROY KOUSKI, ED SIMPSON, DR. JAMES BULL and DR. PETER CROCKER. Heartfelt thanks were extended to LAVERNE WALDBUSSER who has served as secretary for many years. Lawrence Bay then gave a program of little-known facts about Abraham Lincoln on his birth date. The Port Byron Historical Society meets on the second Wednesday of every month (except December) at 6:30 pm at the River Valley District Library, 214 S Main St in Port Byron. We always try to have an interesting program. Everyone is always welcome. Refreshments will be served. Article 4 of the Articles of Incorporation states that the purposes of the Port Byron Historical Society are: "to research, document, preserve and protect the history of Port Byron, IL and its surrounding area; and to increase public awareness of, and interest in, said history".