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Following the American Revolution, Western New York was a vast wilderness that was all but uninhabited, except for the Seneca Indians. Various charters from English Kings in the 1600's granted the area to both Massachusetts and New York, but the Treaty of Hartford in 1786 gave New York sovereignty, allowing Massachusetts to retain monetary title to the land, subject to Indian rights. These rights were subsequently relinquished with the Big Tree Treaty at Geneseo in 1797, where the Indians were paid $100,000 to give up their claims.
In 1791, Robert Morris spent $333,333.33 to purchase a four million acre tract of land from Massachusetts. This purchase included what would eventually become the eight counties known as Western New York. Two years later, Mr. Morris sold three and a half million acres of his purchase to Dutch financiers eager to invest their fortunes in America. Thus, the area became known as the Holland Purchase and the Dutch financiers became the Holland Land Company.
In 1798, Joseph Ellicott came into the area with men and equipment to survey the vast tract of land and lay it out into townships for the Holland Land Company. He was named resident agent of the Purchase in 1800 and as such, was responsible for the sale of the land he surveyed. He was responsible for the road from Batavia north to Pine Hill or "The Pinery", as it was called in 1802. The Indians referred to it as Te-ca-so-a-a, which meant "Pine Lying Up." Soon after, regional advantages such as the rich soil, moderate climate and dense forest which could supply plenty of building material lured many enthusiastic settlers.
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