The 1790 transatlantic con that lured French settlers to the Ohio frontier with fake deeds

The Scioto Company’s Land Swindle at Gallipolis

In 1790, five hundred French nobles, merchants, and craftsmen fled the guillotine of the French Revolution.

They paid good money to the Scioto Company for land in Ohio, then sailed across the Atlantic with dreams of a new life. Upon reaching Virginia, however, they got the shock of their lives.

The company owned no land at all. Their deeds were worthless.

Still, these French refugees pushed on to Ohio, where they built a crude settlement they named Gallipolis. Disease soon swept through their swampy home, killing one-third of the settlers within two years.

The story of these French pioneers unfolds at Our House Tavern in Ohio, where you can even see General Lafayette’s jacket from his 1825 visit honoring these brave souls.

Guillotines Drove French Aristocrats to American Shores

The French Revolution turned violent in 1789, forcing hundreds of aristocrats, merchants, and skilled workers to run for their lives.

The Reign of Terror meant anyone rich or noble could lose their head to the guillotine. The government took over estates and called nobles enemies of the state.

Public killings happened daily in Paris. Many French people with money saw America as a safe place far from the bloodshed.

Cheap land in Ohio looked like the perfect escape.

Shady Business Men Cooked Up a Land Scheme

Colonel William Duer started the Scioto Company in 1787 with a tricky but fake plan. His company owned no land at all.

They only had an option to buy 4 million acres from the Ohio Company but never paid up. Duer sent Joel Barlow to Paris to find buyers for this fake property.

They sold land they had no right to sell. Duer hoped to use French investors’ money to later buy the land, but the plan was bound to fail.

Paris Sales Office Painted a Fantasy Wilderness

William Playfair joined Barlow in Paris during 1789 and created ads full of wild claims. Their brochures said Ohio was a magical place where fish jumped into your arms and wild game was easy to catch.

They told buyers that grape vines hung everywhere and even claimed candles grew on trees along the river. Nearly 400 French families fell for these tall tales and paid big money for what they thought were real deeds.

Hopeful Settlers Set Sail Across the Atlantic

Five ships left France in February 1790 carrying about 600 French people.

The Recovery, Patriot, Scarborough, Liberty, and Lady Washington carried former nobles, merchants, craftsmen, and their families. The Recovery sank during the trip, but luckily all passengers got rescued by other ships.

The travelers packed their best clothes, furniture, and household items, not knowing how rough life would be. Most had never chopped wood, hunted, or built a shelter.

Dreams Crashed on Virginia’s Shore

The first ship, Patriot, reached Alexandria, Virginia on May 3, 1790, with 218 tired passengers ready to start fresh.

Their joy quickly turned to shock when they learned the ugly truth: the Scioto Company owned no land at all. Their deeds were useless paper.

The money they paid never made it to America to buy the land they were promised. Families found themselves stuck in a foreign country with no money, no homes, and no rights.

Washington’s Government Scrambled for Solutions

The French settlers spent weeks in Alexandria begging Congress and President Washington for help. The government pushed the Scioto Company to help these stranded families.

The company agreed to pay for a land journey and build basic shelter at the site they’d falsely sold. They hired Major John Burnham and 36 New England woodsmen to build a settlement.

The workers put up 80 simple log cabins and four blockhouses along the Ohio River.

City of the Gauls Rose in the Wilderness

The worn-out French travelers finally reached their rough frontier homes on October 17, 1790. They called their settlement Gallipolis, meaning “City of the Gauls.

What they found looked nothing like the paradise described in Paris. Simple log cabins stood in a clearing cut from thick forest.

City folks with no outdoor skills now faced living on America’s dangerous frontier. The settlement stood at what is now City Park in today’s Gallipolis.

Swamp Fever Killed One-Third of Settlers

The spot picked for Gallipolis turned out to be deadly. Built on swampy Ohio River bottomland, the settlement became full of mosquitoes and sickness.

Malaria and other diseases spread through the group. Deaths reached awful levels during the first few years.

A letter to Congress in 1792 showed that only 250 people lived from the original 400 who reached the settlement. French nobles and merchants who once feared the guillotine now fought to stay alive.

Settlers Had to Buy Their Land Twice

In 1794, Attorney General William Bradford gave more bad news to the struggling French. He ruled that the Ohio Company owned all legal rights to the land.

The French settlers who lived through disease and hardship now faced a tough choice: leave their homes or pay for their land a second time at $1.25 per acre.

Many families went broke trying to keep the homes they’d already built. The Ohio Company showed little kindness, taking back any plots where settlers couldn’t pay.

Congress Finally Offered a Patch of Land

Congress tried to help in 1795 by giving 24,000 acres in Scioto County as the “French Grant.” This land sat about 40 miles away from the settlement the French had built.

Only a few families moved to this new area. Most stayed in Gallipolis, tied to the community they created through years of hardship.

The grant included 4,000 acres set aside for John Gabriel Gervais, who had fought for the settlers’ rights.

French Settlers Left a Legacy on Ohio’s Frontier

Despite all odds, the community survived. Gallipolis became the seat of newly created Gallia County when Ohio gained statehood in 1803.

By the mid-1800s, most original French settlers had died or moved away, but their influence remained. Street names, architecture, and local customs preserved their cultural impact.

The town stands today as a testament to human resilience in the face of fraud and hardship.

These aristocrats who fled the guillotine found something unexpected in America: the strength to overcome betrayal and build new lives from nothing.

Visiting Our House Tavern, Ohio

Our House Tavern at 432 1st Avenue in Gallipolis honors the French 500 families who came to Ohio in 1790 after fleeing the French Revolution, only to find their land deeds were fake.

You can tour this three-story Federal-style brick tavern with its original taproom, dining room, ballroom, and summer kitchen. Admission costs $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $1 for students, and veterans get in free.

Open Thursday-Saturday 10am-4pm and Sundays 1pm-4pm June-August.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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