Castorland_Company
The Castorland Company, also known as La Compagnie de New York is a company established between 1792 and 1793 in Paris, France with the intent to invest in lands in northern and northwestern New York.[1] Leading American and French speculators, such as William Constable, Alexander Macomb, and James Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont were involved in this business transaction.[2] Castorland was the location of an attempt to settle the western edge of the Adirondacks in the late 18th century.[3] It was 210,000 acres and went from Lake Ontario into the Adirondack Mountains.[3] The name Castorland, meaning “Land of the Beaver,” came from the abundance of beavers on the land. The Castorland Company sent Simon Desjardins and Peter Pharoux as agents to develop newly acquired landholdings in today’s upstate New York, and they kept a journal that was originally a report to the boss, as their job required.[4] This land was a good place for French émigrés to settle after fleeing from the French Reign of Terror. After the death of Desjardins, mismanagement, and issues that the French people faced, Castorland fell apart and most of the land was left with James LeRay, who sold a huge parcel to Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte.[3]