Near Lock 52 at Port Byron, the Erie House saloon built in the 1890s by Italian immigrant brothers served canalers, drydock workers, and many Italians farming the rich mucklands. In a 1901 view, brothers Peter and Salvatore Van Detto stand on the porch beneath a memorial for President McKinley that symbolized their affection for their new country, in contrast to the 1886 riot when Italian laborers seeking work at Lock 52 were rejected as immigrants. A local historian later praised the Italians for having contributed much to the culture and prosperity of the community. On the south edge of nearby Lock 52, the now-gone Kern Store was a popular place for canal travelers and local residents, and a photograph taken about 1910 shows neighborhood teenagers with a store employee, including, it is believed, Ben White, who later became the mayor of Port Byron and the first African-American mayor in New York State. Born in Canada, he immigrated to the United States in 1906 and became a citizen in 1918 while serving in the U.S. military during World War I.