French Azilum
Encyclopedia
French Azilum, located in Bradford County, Pennsylvania
, was a planned settlement for refugees fleeing the French Revolution
. Several influential Philadelphians, including Stephen Girard
, Robert Morris
and John Nicholson, Pennsylvania's comptroller general, were sympathetic to the exiles, and also saw a chance to profit financially. In 1793 they aided in the purchase of 1600 acres (6 km²) of land in northeastern Pennsylvania, which was then wilderness. An area of 300 acres (1.2 km²) was laid out as a town plot including a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) market square, a grid of broad streets and 413 lots, approximately one-half acre each. About 30 log houses were built. A small number of exiles arrived that fall. Some were royalists, loyal to Louis XVI and thus fleeing imprisonment and possible death during the French Revolution
. Others came from the French colony of Santo Domingo
(Haiti
) where there were slave uprisings inspired by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
of the French Assembly
. According to legend, Marie Antoinette
(then Queen of France) and her two children were to settle here.
Soon several small shops, a schoolhouse, a chapel and a theater appeared in the market square. A gristmill, blacksmith shop and a distillery were built, cattle and sheep were kept, and fruit trees and gardens were planted.
The largest building in the colony was "La Grande Maison", a two-story log structure 84 feet (26 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) wide. It is rumored, but not proven, that it was to be for the Queen. Major social gatherings were held there, and both Talleyrand and Louis Phillipe (who later became King of France) were entertained here.
This quasi-aristocratic French court did not last. In the late 1790s, after Morris and Nicholson went into bankruptcy and money from French sources dried up, many of the exiles moved to southern cities including Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans. Some returned to Santo Domingo, and after Napoleon made it possible for exiles to return to France, many did. The LaPortes, Homets, LeFevres, Brevosts and D'Autremonts remained in Pennsylvania and settled in local communities. By 1803 French Azilum passed into history.
None of the more than fifty structures of French Azilum remain. The house and garden plots were absorbed into larger tracts of farmland.
The LaPorte House, built in 1836 by the son of one of the founders of the colony, includes delicately painted ceilings and interior decor which reflect the French influence, and acts as a house museum. An original foundation has been left exposed for public viewing and a reconstructed, relocated log cabin, circa 1790, also serves as a small museum. Guided tours of the LaPorte house are available seasonally, as well as a self-guided tour of over 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of the original settlement, including several outbuildings of the LaPorte Farm.
French Azilum is managed by French Azilum, Inc., a non-profit corporation founded in 1954, and is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Adapted from Historic PA Leaflet No. 11
Bradford County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,761 people, 24,453 households, and 17,312 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 28,664 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, was a planned settlement for refugees fleeing the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Several influential Philadelphians, including Stephen Girard
Stephen Girard
Stephen Girard was a French-born, naturalized American, philanthropist and banker. He personally saved the U.S. government from financial collapse during the War of 1812, and became one of the wealthiest men in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time, based on the...
, Robert Morris
Robert Morris (merchant)
Robert Morris, Jr. was a British-born American merchant, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution...
and John Nicholson, Pennsylvania's comptroller general, were sympathetic to the exiles, and also saw a chance to profit financially. In 1793 they aided in the purchase of 1600 acres (6 km²) of land in northeastern Pennsylvania, which was then wilderness. An area of 300 acres (1.2 km²) was laid out as a town plot including a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) market square, a grid of broad streets and 413 lots, approximately one-half acre each. About 30 log houses were built. A small number of exiles arrived that fall. Some were royalists, loyal to Louis XVI and thus fleeing imprisonment and possible death during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Others came from the French colony of Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
(Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
) where there were slave uprisings inspired by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid...
of the French Assembly
National Assembly (French Revolution)
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
. According to legend, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
(then Queen of France) and her two children were to settle here.
Soon several small shops, a schoolhouse, a chapel and a theater appeared in the market square. A gristmill, blacksmith shop and a distillery were built, cattle and sheep were kept, and fruit trees and gardens were planted.
The largest building in the colony was "La Grande Maison", a two-story log structure 84 feet (26 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) wide. It is rumored, but not proven, that it was to be for the Queen. Major social gatherings were held there, and both Talleyrand and Louis Phillipe (who later became King of France) were entertained here.
This quasi-aristocratic French court did not last. In the late 1790s, after Morris and Nicholson went into bankruptcy and money from French sources dried up, many of the exiles moved to southern cities including Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans. Some returned to Santo Domingo, and after Napoleon made it possible for exiles to return to France, many did. The LaPortes, Homets, LeFevres, Brevosts and D'Autremonts remained in Pennsylvania and settled in local communities. By 1803 French Azilum passed into history.
None of the more than fifty structures of French Azilum remain. The house and garden plots were absorbed into larger tracts of farmland.
The LaPorte House, built in 1836 by the son of one of the founders of the colony, includes delicately painted ceilings and interior decor which reflect the French influence, and acts as a house museum. An original foundation has been left exposed for public viewing and a reconstructed, relocated log cabin, circa 1790, also serves as a small museum. Guided tours of the LaPorte house are available seasonally, as well as a self-guided tour of over 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of the original settlement, including several outbuildings of the LaPorte Farm.
French Azilum is managed by French Azilum, Inc., a non-profit corporation founded in 1954, and is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Adapted from Historic PA Leaflet No. 11