LYONS, N. Y., village, county-seat of Wayne County, on the Erie and new Barge Canal system. Is 49 miles west of Syracuse and 36 miles east by south of Rochester. On the main line of the New York Central, West Shore and Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern railway systems, being the terminal of the Pennsylvania division of the New York Cen tral, tapping the Pennsylvania coal fields. Lyons was founded in 1795 and incorporated as a village in 1854. It is situated in a fertile agri cultural region and centre of the fruit belt. The Niagara, Lockport and Ontario Power Com pany maintains a large power plant here, fur nishing the Empire United Railways with power and surrounding villages with current for all purposes. The Empire Gas and Electric Com pany maintains its power plant here, utilizing an extensive water power. The Barge Canal will have warehouses and terminals here cost ing $125,000. It is estimated that 15,000 horse power can be realized from the Barge Canal at this point. State officials estimate that one third of the local tonnage on the Barge Canal will be received at this point, being coal to be transferred here from the Pennsylvania coal fields. The New York Central has exten sive car shops here with a payroll of over $800 per day. Lyons has the cheapest elec tric power in the State of New York out side of Niagara Falls. This is an important coal transfer point, the New York Central transferring here, while the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company has a mammoth coal transferring trestle in the Penn sylvania division yards.
Its chief industries are two of the largest canning plants in the State; a large cider vine gar plant, cement pipe and block factory; tile yards, machine shops, planing mill, distilleries of peppermint and other essential oils. Mail
bags, sacks, carriers' bags, satchels and straps for the United States postal system are made here with a factory for making fanning-mills and slipper soles.
The Lyons Cold Storage Company, Incor porated, recently erected a 75,000-barrel cold storage plant here, the only plant of its kind between Syracuse and Rochester on the main line of the New York Central. There are ex tensive warehouses for the handling of fruit and produce of various kinds. Lyons has been made a grading station for handling hay from the Western States and grading it for ship ment. A warehouse has just been completed for receiving, grading and picking beans, giv ing employment to 60 hands, using power ma chinery. A new municipal waterworks plant costing $100,000 and a sewer system with dis posal plant costing $140,000 has been installed the past year. Tax rate and fire insurance rates are low. The mortgage indebtedness of Lyons is the smallest of any village in the Empire State, while the fact that its mortality rate is the lowest of any New York village and 78 per cent of its residences are occupied by owners speaks well for the frugality of its residents. The Hough Shade Corporation of Janesville, Wis., maintains storage warehouses here, sup plying the New England, Middle and Eastern States to and including Washington, D. C. Lyons has an aggressive Business Men's Asso ciation and Civic Club. The union school li brary with over 7,000 and the Civic Club library with over 3,000 books are maintained. Its school system is of the best.