My husband and I spent two days chasing history in the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania, which is incredibly well named. We lost cell signal a number of times, which caused our GPS to be a bit unreliable, but we eventually found every place we intended to visit plus a few unexpected side quests. I know that not every man wants to spend his birthday driving around collecting historical facts and soaking up nature, but Kevin assures me that he had a great time.
One of our intended destinations was the subject of this week's quest, and it's one that I'll admit that I was really looking forward to visiting. Ever since I knew this place existed - or, more accurately, used to exist - I've been extremely curious to see it for myself. Pennsylvania has plenty of historical sites that a lot of people don't even realize are there, and this is a perfect example. No one ever taught me in school that we used to have a house intended for Marie Antoinette.
Some say it's only a legend that there was a house meant for the queen and her children. But the historical markers claim it as fact, and while (as we've seen a few times) that isn't always 100% accurate, in this particular instance I like to think that it's correct. Azilum, or French Azilum as it's more commonly called, is a tract of land in what today is Bradford County. Azilum is not the French word for "asylum," although the fact that the two words are used interchangeably on the markers has probably made at least a few people think that it is. The French word for "asylum" is actually asile, whereas azilum is basically how the French refugees pronounced the English word - ah-zih-lum.
It's remembered pretty well that during the American Revolution, France was one of the main allies of the fledgling United States, since at that time in history they had a mutual dislike of the British. (The Marquis de Lafayette was and still is remembered as a hero in the colonies, and goodness knows he's mentioned on enough markers here to prove it.) What history has done a much worse job of remembering is the fact that a couple decades later, Pennsylvania returned the favor to an extent. Don't get me wrong, we didn't get involved with the French Revolution the way they got involved with ours. But we did open our doors to those who were lucky enough to escape the wrath of Madame la Guillotine.
As with so many things, it started in Philadelphia, where a handful of prominent men had sympathy for the royalists trying to escape being beheaded in Paris, and put their heads together to come up with a way to help them. Among those involved were John Nicholson, the comptroller general of Pennsylvania (basically, the state government's chief accountant) and Robert Morris, one of our Founding Fathers. Now, it's said that they weren't being entirely philanthropic with their scheme, but rather that they were also in it to make some profit. This is entirely possible, although if true, that part of the plan didn't quite go the way they anticipated.
At the time, most of northeastern Pennsylvania was still wilderness. In 1793, these gentlemen helped to buy a plot of land measuring 1,600 acres. This was then laid out by two exiled French nobles, Viscount de Noailles and Marquis Antoine Omer Talon, to form a small community. Around thirty log houses were built on many of the half-acre lots, to be used as homes by those fleeing either the Revolution in France or the slave uprisings in what is now Haiti. That autumn, the refugees began to arrive and take up residence in the little settlement. The market square was developed and soon boasted several shops, a school, a chapel, and a theater. They raised sheep, planted fruit trees, and established farmland.
The biggest building was La Grande Maison (literally, "the great house"), which stood two stories high and measured 84 by 60 feet. Although it was largely used for major social events and lodgings for important visitors, it was meant for another purpose - to provide a home for the widowed Queen Marie Antoinette and her two surviving children, Marie-Thérèse and Louis Charles, if they could manage to escape from France. Of course, we all know that didn't happen. From what I've read, the royal family had attempted to escape earlier in the year, but King Louis XVI (who by all accounts was rather attached to his stomach) insisted they stop for dinner, and he was recognized and they were arrested. It's hard to hide in public when your face is on a lot of coins, I suppose. Any chances of the queen making it to Azilum were dashed by her execution in October of 1793, but until the end of the Reign of Terror, there was probably some lingering hope of at least one of the children getting there.
(They didn't, as you can probably guess. Louis Charles, whom royalists recognized as Louis XVII, died in captivity; Marie-Thérèse was the only royal to survive the whole ordeal, and was later Queen of France for a few years.)
Azilum flourished, for a time. The settlement grew to comprise roughly fifty buildings, and the former nobles enjoyed a relatively comfortable lifestyle; their log homes had a handful of frills like glass windows, shutters, wallpaper, and chimneys. They welcomed a number of visiting notables, including Louis Phillipe, the Duke of Orleans (and later King of France), the Duke de Montpensier, and the Duke de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt. Please do not ask me to pronounce that last one. Another visitor was the Prince de Talleyrand, a noted statesman of France who lived in the United States for a couple of years; if that name sounds familiar to any of my longtime readers, it's because you're remembering that Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte was named in his honor.
But this bit of France in Pennsylvania was not meant to last. Remember how I said that if the philanthropists were hoping to make money off of the venture, they were disappointed? By the end of the 18th century, both Nicholson and Morris had gone bankrupt. French financial support for Azilum also dwindled, and the town gradually became unable to support itself. Some of the residents took off for other parts of their adopted country, chiefly to the southern states. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte - in one of his friendlier moves as Emperor - granted amnesty to any surviving nobles who had escaped the Revolution and invited them to return to France, and most of those who still remained in Azilum accepted the offer. Only five of the refugee families remained in Pennsylvania, settling in other communities in the region; the LeFevres, D'Autremonts, Brevosts, and Homets didn't go far, and some have surviving descendants in the area to this day. The fifth family, the LaPortes, didn't actually leave Azilum at all, and in 1836 their son built a new house on their property in a beautiful French style. It's still known as the LaPorte House, and functions today as a museum. The rest of Azilum was absorbed into larger swaths of farmland, the buildings were torn down, and the entire venture passed into memory after just ten years.
None of the original buildings of Azilum survive, although it's thought that some of the beams of La Grande Maison, which was not razed until 1848, were repurposed into the building of what today is called the Wagon House. On weekends in the summer, visitors can enter Le Chalet du Musée - the Museum Cabin, seen here. It's not original to Azilum, but it was built just nine miles away and dates to the 1780s, so it's pretty darn close. It houses relics excavated from the original residents, and provides plenty of interesting information. There's a great deal to see and helpful signage to guide the curious. Among the recreated buildings are a blacksmith's shop, a smoke house, and the aforementioned Wagon House. There is a walking trail and a labyrinth in the shape of the French fleur-de-lis. The only thing original to Azilum is the remnant of a wine cellar, from which historians excavated many of the items seen in the Museum Cabin. Allegedly, according to one page of the official website, the former settlement also includes no less than nine cemeteries, although only the burial site of the LaPorte family still has a monument to identify its location.
Fun fact: the air smells like honeysuckle. No, really. At least, it did when we were there.
But Laura, you might be saying, if all this is in one place, then why do you say this is in multiple communities? Well, that's because the markers are all over the map. There are no less than three, none of which are at French Azilum proper. The historic site itself has a Towanda mailing address, but is also the namesake of Asylum Township, so rather than exclude anyone I just gave them all a bit of credit.
One marker, the first one at the top of the post, is found in Wysox, at the intersection of US 6 and PA 187. The other two are found in a completely different place, a short drive away from both the Wysox marker and French Azilum itself. I definitely recommend visiting both Azilum and this other location, in whichever order you prefer. Follow US 6 into Wyalusing and up the mountainside to the Marie Antoinette Scenic Overlook, named for the doomed queen who never got to see Azilum. There you'll find both the second blue and gold marker and also the original plaque from 1930, and you can enjoy stunning views of the Susquehanna River and the land which once housed the French royalists. (The trees get in the way a little, I'll admit.) More informational signage provides an explanation of where things stood on the settlement, like the market square, and where some things can still be found today, like the LaPorte family burial site. The overlook was constructed in the 1930s as a project of the Works Progress Administration, and is today administered as an offshoot of the French Azilum Historic Site, which is under the auspices of the PHMC (the marker people).
The French Azilum Historic Site is open to the public from May to August each year, with a full schedule of events listed on their website. The on-site buildings are only open on weekends, but the grounds can be explored during daylight hours any day of their open season; anyone visiting outside of regular hours is asked to leave a donation in the box on the gate. Tours are entirely self-guided, although the Museum Cabin does offer an educational video as a sort of primer to the experience. No food is available for purchase, but visitors are welcome to bring picnic lunches and eat in the pavilion, and restrooms with running water are on site. Consult the official website for directions, maps, fees, and other useful information.
The Marie Antoinette Overlook, meanwhile, is open every day of the year and is free to everyone. It's relatively easy to find while driving on Historic Route 6, and even if you're on your way to someplace that isn't French Azilum, it's a great stopping point to stretch your legs and get some fresh air - with a little history and a beautiful view as a bonus.
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear from you!