The Mill Yard Tract
Encyclopedia
Phelps and Gorham Purchase
The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of the pre-emptive right to some 6,000,000 acres of land in western New York State for $1,000,000 . This was all land in western New York west of Seneca Lake between Lake Ontario and the Pennsylvania border...
of western New York State. It consisted of a 185000 acre (748.7 km²; 289.1 sq mi) tract 12 miles (19.3 km) deep and 24 miles (38.6 km), abutting the west bank of the Genesee River
Genesee River
The Genesee River is a North American river flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester....
stretching from the approximate locations of the present day town of Avon
Avon, New York
Avon, New York is the name of two places located in Livingston County in the State of New York in the United States of America.*Avon , New York*Avon , New York...
north to the community of Charlotte
Charlotte, Rochester, New York
Charlotte is a neighborhood in Rochester, New York located at the mouth of the Genesee River along Lake Ontario. It is the home of the Port of Rochester and Charlotte High School.-Early Settlers:...
at Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
and encompassing the City of Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
.
On April 1, 1788, Oliver Phelps
Oliver Phelps
Oliver Phelps was born in Poquonock, Connecticut and moved to Suffield, Connecticut, where he apprenticed to a local merchant. He shortly thereafter became a tavern keeper in Granville, Massachusetts. During the Revolution he was Deputy Commissary of the Continental Army and served until the end...
and Nathaniel Gorham
Nathaniel Gorham
Nathaniel Gorham was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation...
, both of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, purchased all of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
' pre-emptive right to 6000000 acre (24,281.2 km²; 9,375 sq mi) in western New York State. This is roughly all territory west of Seneca Lake from Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
to the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
border, and all the way west to the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
and Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
. Massachusetts acquired this right under the Treaty of Hartford
Treaty of Hartford
The term Treaty of Hartford applies to three historic agreements negotiated at Hartford, Connecticut. The 1638 treaty divided the spoils of the Pequot War. The 1650 treaty defined a border between the Dutch Nieuw Amsterdam and English settlers in Connecticut...
in 1786, when Massachusetts and New York settled their claims to the western New York area. Under the Treaty, Massachusetts would retain pre-emptive right to the land, while the area would be part of New York State and governed and taxed accordingly. The pre-emptive right was the paramount right to prevent anyone else from extinguishing the Indian title to this land, and obtaining fee ownership. For this right, Phelps and Gorham were to pay Massachusetts $1,000,000 in specie or in certain securities of Massachusetts then trading at about 20 cents on the dollar. The payments were to be in three equal annual installments. To own the land outright, however, they still had to extinguish the Indian title.
By act of the Massachusetts Legislature, approved April 1, 1788, it was provided that 'this Commonwealth doth hereby agree, to grant, sell & convey' to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, for a purchase price was $1,000,000, payable in three equal annual installments of certain Massachusetts securities then worth about 20 cents on the dollar.
On July 4–8, 1788 a council was held with chiefs of the Five Nations
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
of Indian at Buffalo Creek
Buffalo River (New York)
The Buffalo River is a river that empties into the eastern end of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, by the City of Buffalo in the United States of America. This stream is called the Buffalo River only in the vicinity of the city and is known as Buffalo Creek as it flows through other parts of...
. The various tribes, however, were unwilling at that time to relinquish title to any land west of the Genesee. Phelps pleaded with the Chiefs and Sachems present at Buffalo Creek to allow them some land on the west bank of the Genesee so they could set up and gristmill and a sawmill. They finally agreed on a tract of land west of the Genesee, running south from Lake Ontario approximately 24 miles (38.6 km) and extending west from the river approximately 12 miles (19.3 km), with this western boundary paralleling the course of the Genesee, and containing 184320 acre (745.9 km²; 288 sq mi). This became known as the "Mill Yard Tract". Within the Mill Yard Tract, Phelps and Gorham gifted 100 acre (0.404686 km²; 0.156250138152179 sq mi) to Ebenezer "Indian" Allen at the high falls of the Genesee River so he could build a grist mill and sawmill. Allen's tract became the nucleus of Rochester, New York.
It was later said that when the tribes realized the amount of land actually needed to operate the two mills, they were "astonished."