Metropolis was discovered in 1609 by Heinrich der Vermeer, who was looking for a good port system to trade in the New World. The port village was tended by der Vermeer's family up until 1703, when businessmen Louis Franklin and William Chamberlain bought out the Vermeer's for the village, and officially founding it as an independent town. Franklin quickly drafted up maps and plans for a major port system with Metropolis as the central trade and business hub in the region. Chamberlain worked to make peace with the Native Indians, the Wampalas, so land once owned by the Wampala tribe would be owned by the partners.