Between 1818 and 1820, the Erie Canal transformed Bucksville into a boom town. The place grew rapidly from being a sleepy. frontier settlement into a bustling canal town. Within a decade its population grew rapidly and soon swelled to 1,500 residents.

The original canal route went directly through the center of the village. After the canal was opened between Utica and Montezuma on October 21, 1819, a distance of 96 miles, the community sealed its future and took on new life. The Cayuga Republican of Auburn, Wednesday, December 15, 1819, states:

"In this age of wonders, perhaps nothing is more calculated to excite the admiration of the intelligent and reflecting part of the people, than the 96 miles of canal, principally through a wilderness, should be completed in the short space of two years and five months, from the time of its commencement, yet such appears to be the fact."

Mercantile businesses and small industries sprung up seemingly overnight along the banks of the canal as well as the Owasco Outlet. Developed were a grist mill, woolen mill, cooper shop, dry dock for building and repair vessels; nine dry goods stores and four taverns and inns such as the Erie House. This place provided lodging and sustenance for canal travelers. It became even busier when the Cayuga and Seneca Canal was opened on April 13, 1820. In 1823 Brigham had saved enough to purchase what appears have been a building lot in the center of town from Aholiab and Annis Buck, among the first settlers of the community. It was strategically located along the canal but Brigham never used it.

There were also numerous blacksmith shops and stables. In 1832, the name of the village was changed to Port Byron, in honor of the famous Lord Byron, a poet from England, who it was said once passed through the place on the canal. Another story is the name change honored a man named Byron, who owned a canal dock.

A significant portion of the population was involved in canal related jobs, including boatmen, lock tenders, millers and innkeepers. The canal was later rerouted around Port Byron. It was about this time Brigham Young who later became succeeded Joseph Smith as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, showed up in town looking for work. At the age of 16 he left home to support himself, learning trades much needed in this new country, including painting, carpentry and glass-making.

According to local lore Brigham worked on numerous important construction projects such as Auburn Prison and Auburn Theological Seminary. It is believed he worked on what is now the Seward House which was originally the the home of Seward's father-in-law, Judge Elijah Miller. Brigham once told his son, Brigham Young Jr., who was headed east on a mission: "If you have time to spend a few days in Auburn, Port Byron, and that region, it may be of interest to remind you that I began my mechanical career in Auburn, and helped to build the first little market house in that place, when the site of the state's prison was a site filled with hemlock and other trees, many of them from three to four feet through and some of them five and others seven feet through. "Seizing the opportunity, Brigham left the backwoods community of Tyrone for "greener pastures," and found them in central New York. There was considerable work to be done and Brigham eventually found himself working at many trades on the canal, painting buildings and other odd jobs. He did quite well working for Roderick Watson, whose duties included superintending construction and maintenance of the canal through Bucksville. Brigham in four months was paid $200 for painting three lock houses and a bridge between July and October, 1825. Watson was also a judge and postmaster of Bucksville. He later moved west.

According to the History of Port Byron and Town of Mentz, Brigham first lived in Haydenville, a small settlement south of Port Byron, and first worked in the Haydenville paint factory. Later, it is said Brigham either built or moved into an existing house on Seneca Street, adjacent to the heel-path of the original canal. Oldtime residents of Port Byron recalled he was an expert at different trades. He and Miriam Works were married at Haydenville on October 8, 1824. Their first daughter, Elizabeth, was born in Bucksville on September 26, 1825. Family tradition, mixed with folklore, states she and Brigham met at a dance. Another story is that the two met one day in Haydenville.

Miriam's father, Asa Works, was a Revolutionary War veteran. They, like the Youngs, were no strangers to privation and hard labor. The Works lived on what is now West Genesee Street road west of Auburn. It is suggested the small house at 78 South St. in Port Byron is where Brigham and his new bride lived for a time. It is felt that Brigham may have rented it from James and Lydia Pine for awhile. But real history has been closely intertwined with folklore over the years.