a village in the arrondissement of Gex, department of Ain, France, 5 miles N.W. of Geneva. It is celebrated as having been for nearly 20 years the residence of Voltaire, and "hither the greatest personages of the time eagerly resorted to pay their respects to that great genius." Previous to his purchase of the estate in 1758, Ferney was a wretched hamlet, consisting of a few hovels. He formed it into a neat little town, colonized it with industrious artisans, chiefly watchmakers from Geneva, and drained and planted the adjacent grounds. The château in which he resided has been so much altered by the present proprietor, that scarcely a relic of Voltaire now remains.