Peasant unrest in late 18th century France and slave uprisings in the French colony of Santo Domingo (now Haiti) forced many aristocrats to flee. A small group emigrated to America and settled along the Susquehanna River between Wysox and Wyalusing, founding the village of French Azilum as a refuge. They built thirty small log homes including La Grande Maison, intended to house Marie Antoinette and her children but ultimately not fulfilled.