Williamsburgh and the Eastern District
View of Williamsburgh, L.I. From Grand St. N.Y. drawn from nature by E. Whitefield,1852.
Courtesy of NYPL Digital Archive
The site of Williamsburgh was originally owned by the Dutch West India Company. Developer Richard M. Woodhull of New York City bought land close to North Second Street, laid out city lots, and named it Williamsburgh in honor of the land’s surveyor, Colonel Williams, U. S. Engineer. He continued building the area by establishing a ferry from his property at the foot of North Second Street to Corlies Hook, which is now Grand Street. Another land speculator, Thomas Morrell, soon began to compete with Woodhull. He bought the homestead farm of the Titus Estate and laid out city lots with an accompanying map, naming Grand Street as a dividing line. In 1812 Morrell instituted a ferry of his own in the same place Woodhull's ferry ran. He named the territory along the river near North Second Street “Yorkton” and near Grand Street "Wallabout.” Morrell managed to monopolize the ferry, but kept Woodhull’s name.
Thirteen years after the first round of land speculation, Messrs. Garret & Grover C. Furman, merchants from New York City, bought twenty-five acres of land beginning at South First Street. There were no buildings in the area at the time, and it was contained by a stone wall. The divided fields within were surveyed and turned into city lots. On April 14, 1827, the Village of Williamsburgh was incorporated within the Town of Bushwick, and two years later South Second Street opened. By 1830 Williamsburgh had four streets: South First, South Second, South Third, and South Fourth. South Fourth was a dirt road where one could see the East River, stone walls, and gardens. The grid of what would soon be an urban area was beginning to take shape in the new village.
Shortly after its incorporation as a village, Williamsburgh separated from the Town of Bushwick and became the Town of Williamsburgh (April 7, 1840). The growth that allowed this separation was largely due to the immigrant influx of the 1840s. Between 1840 and 1850, the population grew sixfold, increasing from 5,094 to 30,780 inhabitants (Rosenwaike 1972, 50). As population and industry continued to grow, yet another change swept over Williamsburgh when, in 1851, it was incorporated as a city. Within just a few years of being its own city, the Act of 1854 annexed Williamsbrugh into Brooklyn, at which time it lost it's historical “h.” This was fully realized on January 1, 1855, when Williamsburgh and Bushwick were brought into the City of Brooklyn as the Eastern District.
Politics, religion and immigration all played important roles in the transformation of Williamsburgh as a town, village, and city, and each stage was short-lived. As such, no single generation was used to much stability. The scenery, architecture, modes of transportation, and occupational options were all altered rapidly. Religious and community centers probably fulfilled the need for stability, connecting people to their origins and to their immediate community within the larger Eastern District. The Dutch Reform Church, dating to 1825 and noted as one of the first structures in the area, is a fine example of this, as is the first Irish mass celebrated in Williamsburgh in 1837.
Thirteen years after the first round of land speculation, Messrs. Garret & Grover C. Furman, merchants from New York City, bought twenty-five acres of land beginning at South First Street. There were no buildings in the area at the time, and it was contained by a stone wall. The divided fields within were surveyed and turned into city lots. On April 14, 1827, the Village of Williamsburgh was incorporated within the Town of Bushwick, and two years later South Second Street opened. By 1830 Williamsburgh had four streets: South First, South Second, South Third, and South Fourth. South Fourth was a dirt road where one could see the East River, stone walls, and gardens. The grid of what would soon be an urban area was beginning to take shape in the new village.
Shortly after its incorporation as a village, Williamsburgh separated from the Town of Bushwick and became the Town of Williamsburgh (April 7, 1840). The growth that allowed this separation was largely due to the immigrant influx of the 1840s. Between 1840 and 1850, the population grew sixfold, increasing from 5,094 to 30,780 inhabitants (Rosenwaike 1972, 50). As population and industry continued to grow, yet another change swept over Williamsburgh when, in 1851, it was incorporated as a city. Within just a few years of being its own city, the Act of 1854 annexed Williamsbrugh into Brooklyn, at which time it lost it's historical “h.” This was fully realized on January 1, 1855, when Williamsburgh and Bushwick were brought into the City of Brooklyn as the Eastern District.
Politics, religion and immigration all played important roles in the transformation of Williamsburgh as a town, village, and city, and each stage was short-lived. As such, no single generation was used to much stability. The scenery, architecture, modes of transportation, and occupational options were all altered rapidly. Religious and community centers probably fulfilled the need for stability, connecting people to their origins and to their immediate community within the larger Eastern District. The Dutch Reform Church, dating to 1825 and noted as one of the first structures in the area, is a fine example of this, as is the first Irish mass celebrated in Williamsburgh in 1837.