The Village of Constableville was one of the first settlements in Lewis County. It was originally called Shalersville, after Nathaniel Shaler, the first land agent employed by William Constable, Sr. The entire village of Constableville is listed on the National Historic Register. William Constable was two years old when he came to the New World from Ireland with his father, Dr. John Constable, in 1754. Before the Revolution was over, he served as an aide to General Lafayette.

A family of distinguished background, education, and social graces, the Constables possessed an acute awareness of the settlement possibilities of the Adirondack wilderness. In 1791, William Constable, Alexander Macomb, and Daniel McCormick purchased four million acres of land that became known as the "Macomb Purchase." This tract included some parts of Herkimer and Oswego Counties as well as all the lands that are now included in Lewis, Jefferson, SI. Lawrence, and Franklin Counties.

William Constable devoted his life to the development and settlement of the land of the Macomb Purchase. The dream of a large settled area systematically developed as planned. Eventually, William Constable's son not only carried the development forward after his father's death, but he later chose that area to build the stately Constable Hall.