# Gerrit Boon

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**Gerrit Boon** (May 15, 1768 in [Delft](/source/Delft) – December 2, 1821 in [Gouda](/source/Gouda,_South_Holland)) was the son of a [Lutheran](/source/Lutheran) minister Johan Michiel Boon. His father studied in [Helmstedt](/source/Helmstedt) and moved in 1752 from [Amersfoort](/source/Amersfoort) to [Delft](/source/Delft) and in 1774 to [Rotterdam](/source/Rotterdam). Gerrit Boon became a sugar refinerer in the city, working for his brother-in-law. He went to the United States in 1790 where he met with [John Lincklaen](/source/John_Lincklaen).

In 1792, he bought 30,000 acres (120 km2) near the [West Canada Creek](/source/West_Canada_Creek). Then he moved to a cabin near Cincinnati and Steuben Creek. Boon believed that harvesting [maple syrup](/source/Maple_syrup) could be a year-round activity, so slavery on the sugar plantations could be avoided. In 1794, he gave up the [sugar refinery](/source/Sugar_refinery).

Boon worked to develop company lands in [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), first settling in the town of [Trenton, New York](/source/Trenton,_New_York), where he founded the village now known as [Barneveld](/source/Barneveld,_New_York). Also the [Village of Boonville](/source/Boonville_(village),_New_York) and the [Town of Boonville](/source/Boonville_(town),_New_York) in [Oneida County, New York](/source/Oneida_County,_New_York) are named after him. He had a budget of $30,000 ($ in dollars) to hire carpenters, masons and other workmen to create a village for the affluent. Boon's efforts were unsuccessful due in part to incomplete knowledge of the region and bad luck. He built a dam and a mill that were washed away by flood waters in 1797.

In 1798, Boon returned to [Holland](/source/Holland). His assistant [Adam Gerard Mappa](/source/Adam_Gerard_Mappa) took over as the agent of the Holland Land Company and lived in his house until 1809, today called [Mappa Hall](/source/Mappa_Hall) in [Barneveld, New York](/source/Barneveld,_New_York). In 1804 he married Debora Aeneae, the daughter of an [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam) professor in mathematics. In 1813 the couple divorced in Amsterdam, living at [Singel (Amsterdam)](/source/Singel_(Amsterdam)). Boon left Holland and moved to [Heeswijk](/source/Heeswijk), [North Brabant](/source/North_Brabant), but died with small debts at the local shops, and wine dealers in Gouda.

## External links

- [http://villageofbarneveld.org/content/History](http://villageofbarneveld.org/content/History) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20081121003712/http://villageofbarneveld.org/content/History) 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
- [https://archive.org/stream/francisadrianvan00vand/francisadrianvan00vand_djvu.txt](https://archive.org/stream/francisadrianvan00vand/francisadrianvan00vand_djvu.txt)
- [http://oneida.nygenweb.net/misc/wager/ch46.html](http://oneida.nygenweb.net/misc/wager/ch46.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gerrit Boon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrit_Boon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrit_Boon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.