403 M. BATAVIA, Pop. 13,541. (Train 51 passes 4:45p; No. 3, 6:18p; No. 41, 10:45p; No. 25, 11:04p; No. 19, 3:03a. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 12:17a; No. 26, 1:12a; No. 16, 5:32a; No. 22, 8:04a.) Batavia, situated on Tonawanda Creek, was laid out in 1801 by Joseph Ellicott (1760-1826), the engineer who had been engaged in surveying the land known as the "Holland Purchase" of which Batavia was a part. The so-called "Holland Purchase" comprised nearly all the land in Western N.Y. west of the Genesee River. Its history is associated with Robert Morris (1734-1806), the Revolutionary merchant and banker whose financial assistance had been invaluable to the Colonies during the War of Independence. Morris acquired the Holland Purchase from the Indians in 1791, after having obtained permission from the State of Mass. which then claimed sovereignty over this territory. The following year, however, he began to be involved in financial misfortunes and was compelled to sell this property to a group of Dutch capitalists, who undertook to dispose of the land to settlers. It thus became known as the Holland Purchase, and the Holland Land Office in Batavia was one of the centers from which the operations of the Dutch Land company were directed. The slow development of Morris's other property and the failure of a London bank in which he had funds invested, finally drove him into bankruptcy, and he was confined in a debtor's prison for more than three years (1798-1801). The old Holland Land Office was dedicated as a memorial to Robert Morris in 1894. Here lived William Morgan whose supposed murder in 1826 by Freemasons led to the organization of the Anti-Masonic party. Batavia was the home of Dean Richmond (1804-1866), a capitalist, successful shipper and wholesale dealer in farm produce, who became vice-president (1853-1864) and later president (1864-1866) of the New York Central Lines. He was likewise a prominent leader of the Democratic party in N.Y. State. In 1899 his widow, Mary E. Richmond, erected here in memory of a son a library which contains about 15,000 volumes. Among the education institutions here are the N.Y. State School for the Blind and St. Joseph's Academy (Roman Catholic). The historical museum in the old Holland Land Office* contains a good collection of early state relics. The two old guns in front were cast in the N.Y. State Arsenal, which manufactured arms for use in the War of 1812. Among the manufactures are harvesters, ploughs, threshers and other agricultural implements, firearms, rubber tires, shoes, shell goods, paper-boxes, and inside woodwork. We now approach Buffalo, beyond which our route closely parallels Lake Erie. We thus get our first view of one of America's great inland seas in this part of the route, although at certain points between Syracuse and Buffalo (notably at Rochester) our train has passed only a few miles south of Lake Ontario.