Alexander Macomb (merchant) - Career

Career

In Detroit, Michigan during the American Revolution, Macomb and his brother William continued their fur trade with British and Native Americans. They traded supplies in exchange for furs.

After the war, Macomb moved to New York City, where he became a successful land speculator and shipping magnate. He purchased large tracts of land in Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina for resale. In 1788, he built a city house on Broadway. In 1790 the US government leased the New York City house to serve as the second presidential mansion, occupied by George Washington after the first presidential mansion on Cherry Street proved too small.

In 1791, Alexander Macomb purchased the largest tract yet, from the State of New York, 3,670,715 acres (14,855 km²), since known as "Macomb's Purchase." The tract included much of northern New York, along the St. Lawrence River and eastern Lake Ontario, including the Thousand Islands, at a cost of about twelve cents an acre. It was land which the state took control of after the British ceded their and Iroquois lands to the United States. Four of the six Iroquois tribes had been allied with the British.

The purchase was divided into ten large townships. From this purchase are derived the deeds for all the lands that are now included in Lewis, Jefferson, St. Lawrence, and Franklin counties, as well as portions of Herkimer and Oswego counties.

Macomb's enterprise was a failure; contrary to his expectations, sales of land did not keep pace with the due dates for payments. During the Panic of 1792, which further depressed land sales, Macomb was taken to debtor's prison with over $300,000 in debt. He never regained his fortune. Some land speculators later made money from their turnover of New York lands.