In
1676, "Byram Neck" was granted to Thomas Lyon, Jr. by the
Greenwich Town Meeting as compensation for the Town's taking of
his wife's property-- Greenwich Point. No later than 1711,
a grist mill was first built on the lower Byram river.
William and Thomas Ritch opened a granite quarry in 1840 on the
shore; its stone, "Byram Blue Point,' was used in many local and
New York buildings.
The first residential "developments"
were proposed on Milo Mead's farm during the 1850's.
Abendroth Foundry and other Port Chester and Byram industries
attracted workers from Europe in the 1880's. Slovaks,
Germans, Danes and others settled here and established their own
churches and associations.
In 1891, a volunteer fire company
was first formed. The Ritch family quarry was sold to the
Town for a park (Byram Beach Park) in 1918. The name
"Byram" in 1947 officially replaced the name "East Port
Chester." The village was also known during earlier times
as Hawthorne, Meadville, New Lebanon, and Lyonville.
Links:
Wikipedia - About Byram
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