The Holland Purchase

The Holland Purchase. Historic New York. The Holland Land Company was organized by six banking firms in the Netherlands to purchase the unsettled land of western New York State. Their agent, Theophile Cazenove, in 1792-93 bought more than three million acres, known as the Holland Purchase. It included the area west of the “Transit Line,” located 13 miles east of here, from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania. The purchase excluded a strip along the Niagara River and six reservations established for Indians. , Joseph Ellicott, the company's agent for more than 20 years, surveyed towns and planned roads and millsites. He laid out the city of Buffalo, promoted canal construction and dominated party politics in the area. , From its main office at Batavia, the company sold most of the purchase in 360-acre lots, exacting a small down payment. Many settlers faced difficulties in completing payments because of hardships in clearing the land and marketing farm products. Some disliked company policies and rioted against them in 1836. By 1837, the company had sold all its property. , From the Holland Purchase, have been formed four counties and parts of four others, comprising 129 rural and suburban towns and 11 cities, which in 1960 had a population of more than 1,600,000.