At the end of July Governor Parr paid the town a visit,
and christened it, curiously enough, with the name of
Shelburne, after the British statesman who was responsible
for the Peace of Versailles. The occasion was one of
great ceremony. His Excellency, as he landed from the
sloop _Sophie_, was saluted by the booming of cannon from
the ships and from the shore. He proceeded up the main
street, through a lane of armed men. At the place appointed
for his reception he was met by the magistrates and
principal citizens, and presented with an address. In
the evening there was a dinner given by Captain Mowat on
board the _Sophie_; and the next evening there was another
dinner at the house of Justice Robertson, followed by a
ball given by the citizens, which was 'conducted with
the greatest festivity and decorum,' and 'did not break
up till five the next morning.' Parr was delighted with
Shelburne, and wrote to Sir Guy Carleton, 'From every
appearance I have not a doubt but that it will in a short
time become the most flourishing Town for trade of any
in this part of the world, and the country will for
agriculture.'

For a few years it looked as though Shelburne was not
going to belie these hopes. The autumn of 1783 brought
a considerable increase to its population; and in 1784
it seems to have numbered no less than ten thousand souls,
including the suburb of Burchtown, in which most of the
negro refugees in New York had been settled. It became
a place of business and fashion. There was for a time an