% ¦¦'.¦¦ : W< YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FA37„ "PTil" rM i^ ff:lsl^ U H"£ -RY E PORTER. BELDEN, MA. PROJECTOR of the UOOEL or NEW-YORi Hw-Yoik. Geo P. Putnam, 155 Broadway NEW-YORK: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE; COMPRISING A HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW- YORK, A DESCRIPTION OF ITS PRESENT CONDITION AN ESTIMATE OF ITS FUTURE INCREASE. BY E. PORTER BELDEN, M. A., projector or the model of new-york. second edition. NEW- YORK : PUBLISHED By G. P. PUTNAM, FOR THE PROPRIETORS, phij.adei.fhi >. : geo. s. applt5ton ; boston: o. a. mitssey&co.; albany: £ h. pease & co.; troy : young & hartt ; utica : j. tiffany : ro- cme5tkr i d. hoyt ; buffalo : geo. h. derby & co.; newark : w. k. halsted; Baltimore: james s. waters; Washington: w. m. morrison ; charleston : john russell ; pittsburgh : elliot & english; cincinnati : bradley & anthony; louisville : mor ton & griswold ; st. louis : john hax.9all ; n. orleans ! j. b. steele ; new haven \ s. babcock ; hartford \ belknap & hamersley ; springfield : merriam, chapin 8t co.; portland : sanborn 8t car. tkr : montreal: benjamin dawson. IS40. Euf^rcl according lo Act of Congress, in Die year 1849, by G. P. PUTNAM, for the Proprietors, ¦ Clark's Office of the District "Court of the Southern District of New-York. J.T. Pr*l.l, Printer 8t Stereotvper, 9 Spruco-'st. N. Y. TO ALBERT GALLATIN, LL.D., •PRESIDENT OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ESTEEMED FOR HIS NUMEROUS POLITICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND LITERARY SERVICES TO HIS ADOPTED COUNTRV, AND BELOVED BY ALL WHO KNOW HIM FOR THE VIRTUES AND QUALITIES THAT ADORN HIS PRIVATE LIFE, AS A TRIBUTE OF THE author's regard, this volume is by permission INSCRIBED. PREFACE. In the construction of the Model of New- York, a vast number of statistical details were collected, some of which varied exceedingly from statements in print, but most of which had never been given to the public. The attention of the author was thus directed to the subject. On investi gation it appeared that no history of the city had ever been published, and that no accurate descriptive work had been issued during the last twenty years. The contents of the ordinary guide-books proved to be in great part plagiarized from gazetteers and other works not professing the accuracy of local manuals, and, where original, to be grossly erroneous. A desire to present truth to the public, has led to the preparation of the present work. In the prosecution of the object, no statement has been made that is not drawn from original sources, and no statistical informa tion given that is not based upon the official papers of the city or the most authentic personal communications. The author would acknowledge his indebtedness to the Corporation of New- York for having, by public act, placed at his disposal the records and documents of the city ; to David T. Valentine, Esq., the clerk of the Common Council, Martin E. Thompson, Esq., the street-commissioner, Talman J. Waters, Esq., late controller, Moses G. Leonard, Esq., the Aims-House commissioner, and the other municipal officers, for the courtesy they have exhibited, and the pains they have taken to collect and furnish information connected with their respective departments; to J. R. and Geo. H. Moore, Esqs.,the late and present librarians of the New- York Historical Society, and Edward C. Herrick, Esq. , librarian of Yale College, for having with great politeness unclosed the treasures of the invaluable historical and literary repositories of wnich they have the supervision, and afforded to him every possible facility in prosecuting his researches ; and to Alfred Terry, Esq., the town-clerk of New-Haven, for having thrown open to his inspection the records of the neighbors and rivals of New-Netherland. The historical sketch in the present issue, is an epitome of this portion of the work as it will appear in the regular edition now in course of pre paration. A vast amount of local material has been collected. The documents procured in England, Holland, and France, by J. R. Brod- head, Esq., throw much light upon the rise and progress of New- York, and will enable the author to present many facts that have hitherto escaped notice. And the services ot any individual who can contribute to his materials, by communicating a duly authenticated incident, or by placing within his reach a document, which elucidates or illustrates any event or principle in the history of the metropolis, will be highly appreciated. New- York, 1S49. CONTENTS. PART I. NEW-YORK— THE PAST. HISTORICAL SKETCH, Page PART II. NEW-YORK— THE PRESENT. CHAP. I.— DESCRIPTION, 27 Surrounding "Waters, - 28 Surface of the Island, - 28 Streets, - - - 28 Pavements, - - - 30 Public Grounds, ( - 31 Battery, - - 31 Bowling Green, - 32 City Park, - 32 Hudson, Washington, and Tompkins Squares, - 33 Union Place, - 33 Gramercy Park, - 33 Hamilton Square, 34 Table of Public Grounds, 34 Table of Distances, - 35 Croton Water Works, - 36 New- York Gas Works, - 42 Manhattan Gas Works, 43 Sewers, - 43 CHAP. II.— POPULATION, - 44 CHAP. III-.— GOVERNMENT, - 46 Buildings of City Government, 47 City Hall, 47 Hall of Records, 47 New City Hall, - - 47 Police Department, 47 Station Houses, - 48 Day Stations of Policemen, 48 Halls of Justice, 49 Regulations of Carriages, 50 " " Porterage, 51 " " Cartage, 51 Omnibuses, - 52 , l* Markets, - 64 Alma-House Department, 64 Fire Department, - 65 Military Department, 57 Health Department, - - 68 CHAP. IV— TRADE&COMMERCE, 59 Commercial Facilities, 59 Capital of New-York, 69 Banks, - 61 Insurance Companies, 61 Merchants' Exchange, 62 N. Y. Stock &Exchange Board, 63 New Stock Exchange, 63 Chamber of Commerce, 63 Custom House, - - 64 Exports, Imports, and Duties, 64 Business Streets, - 65 Packets, - - 65 Lines of Vessels, - 66 Canal-boats and Barges, 67 Propellers, - 68 Steamboats, 68 Ferries, - 70 Piers, - - 70 Atlantic Dock Co., - - 71 Pilotage, - 71 Railroads, - 72 Consuls, - 72 Post Office, 73 Magnetic Telegraph Lines, 75 Commercial Journals, - 75 CHAP. V.— MORALS & RELIGION, 76 General Morality, - 76 Churches, - 77 CONTENTS. Page. Reformed Dutch Church, 77 Friends, - 78 Jews, - 79 Lutheran Church, 80 Episcopal Church, 81 Presbyterian Church, 82 Moravian Church, - 82 Baptist Church, - 84 Methodist Church, - 85 Roman Catholic Church, 86 Universalist Church, - 88 Congregational Church, 88 New Jerusalem Church, 89 Unitarian Church, - 89 Port Society, - 89 Christian Church, - 89 Second Advent Church, 89 German Catholic Church, 90 French Reformed Church, 90 Cemeteries, - 90 Greenwood Cemetery, - 90 Trinity Church Cemetery, 91 Rockland Cemetery, - 91 Cemetery ofthe Cypress Hills91 CHAP. VI.— BENEVOLENCE, 92 New-York Hospital, - 92 Bloomingdale Asylum, - 93 Deaf and Dumb Institution, 94 Institution for the Blind, 96 Widows' Society, - 97 New-York Orphan Asylum, 98 Leake & Watts Orphan House, 99 Colored Orphan Asylum, 99 New-York Dispensary, - 100 Northern and Eastern Dispens aries, - . 100 Marine Society, - - 100 Nautical Institution, 100 Marine Hospital, - ioi Seamen's Retreat, - ioi Sailor's Snug Harbor, - 101 Mariners' Family Industrial So ciety, . 102 Page. American Bible Society, - 102 American Tract Society, 103 American Protestant Society, 103 Christian Alliance, - 103 Foreign Evangelical Society, 103 CHAP. VII. -EDUCATION, - 104 Public Schools, - 104 Columbia College, - 105 New-York University, - 107 Medical Department of N. Y. University, - - 108 College of Physicians and Surgeons, - 108 General Theological Semi nary, - - 109 Union Theological Seminary, 109 Rutgers Female Institute, 110 CHAP. VIII.— LITERATURE. SCIENCE. AND TASTE, 111 Literary Institutions, 111 N. Y. Historical Society, 112 New-York Society Library, 112 Mercantile Library Associa tion, - H3 Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, - 114 Scientific Institutions, 114 American Iustitute, 114 Mechanics' Institute. - 114 Lyceum of Natural History, 115 Ethnological Society, - 115 Institutions ofthe Fine Arts, 116 American Art-Union, - 116 Newspapers. - • 117 CHAP. IX.— ENTERTAINMENT AND AMUSEMENT, 118 American Museum, 118 Castle Garden, - - 118 Exhibitions and Concerts, 119 Objects of Interest, - 119 Excursions, - 120 PART III. NEW-YORK— THE FUTURE. Causes of the Prosperity of | New- York, - 107 Estimates of its Future In crease, NEW-YORK — THE PAST. " Now turn your view, and mark from Celtic night To present grandeur how my Britain rose." Thompson. HISTORICAL SKETCH. [This portion of the work in the full edition will be seventy -five or one hundred. pages longer than in the present issue.}. What race first peopled the island of Mannahata 1* They were ; but are not : the vestiges of their arts are the study of the antiquary. Sixteen centuries of the Christian era rolled away, and no trace] of civilization was left on the spot where now stands a city renowned for commerce, intelligence, and wealth. The wild children of nature, un molested by the white man, roamed through its forests, and impelled their light canoes along its tranquil waters. But the time was near at hand when these domains of the savage were to be invaded by strangers, who would lay the humble foundations of a mighty state, and scatter everywhere in their path exterminating principles which, with con stantly augmenting force, would never cease to act until the whole aboriginal race should be extirpated, and their memory, like that of a nation on which once fell, in a high degree, divine displeasure, be almost blotted out from under heaven-. Civilization, originating in the east, had reached the western confines of the old world. It was now to cross the barrier that had arrested its progress, and penetrate the forests of a continent that had just appeared to the astonished gaze of the millions of Christendom. North American barbarism was to give place to European refinement. On an autumn day, in the year 1 609, a strange sight appeared to the Indians that crowded the shores of Manhattan. It was the bark of Henry Hudson, then in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, who, on a voyage in search of a north-west passage to the Indies, had entered, on the 3d of September, the southern waters of New-York. Warlike by nature, and perhaps foreboding the future, the Man- hattce* extended not to the stranger the civilities offered by the neighbor ing tribes. Twice, during Hudson's stay of a month in. these waters, did they attack the new-comers ; and ten of their number fell before * This is the name applied to the island of New-York in the journal of tb,e.first ex ploration of the river. Purchas's Pilgrims, ill. 667 — 610. 12 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Discovery of the Hudson. — Voyages to New-Netherland. the superior power of civilized warfare. The vessel ascended the river which will bear the name of the distinguished navigator to posterity ; it descended; and the white man disappeared.* Have these waters" ever before been disturbed by European adventu rers ? Was New- York a part of ancient Vinland, and visited by the Scandinavians ?f Did the wanderings of prince Madoc bring him to this portion ofthe American coast 'if Did Verrazani, in 1524, enter the harbor of New- York ?§ Or, as is asserted, with perhaps more reason, had persons in the employ of a Dutch Greenland Company resorted here as early as 1598 to provide a place of shelter for the winter months ?|| Have the jealousies of the fierce aborigines of Mannahata been excited by former acquaintance with civilized man ? Our curiosity cannot be satisfactorily gratified. But, if the inhabitants of this island have now for the first time beheld individuals of a new race, will this be the only visit of the strangers to their shores ? The Dutch, having achieved their independence, and risen to emi nence as a commercial power, were not the people to allow important discoveries to pass unimproved. It was at once perceived that, though the desired passage to India had not been found, the voyage of Hudson had opened the way to a valuable traffic in furs. A few months passed away, and, before the close of the following year, a. Dutch ship was again seen by the natives.1T A successful voyage was succeeded by others; posts were established on the river, and, as early as 1614, four houses, it is asserted, had been erected on the island whose inhabitants had, five years before, exhibited so much hostility at the approach of the white man.** For the next three years the exclusive privilage of trading to the Manhattans, was granted to a company formed for the purpose, called " The United New-Netherland Company. "ft This company, soon after its organization, fortified a redoubt near the southern extremity of the island, which became the central point of the trade.^t Valuable cargoes of furs were procured from the Indians in exchange for articles * Purchas, ut supra. De Laet's New-World. Coll. N. Y. Hist. Soe (2d ser 1 I 5?9-?.?1:, Y,Bn *>r Donok's New Netherlands in same, I. 135, 136. Lambrechts'en's New-Netherlands, Ibid. I. 84—86. Joost Hartgers, Ibid. II. 368—370. Heylyn's Cosmo graphy, TV. 95, 96. Forster's Voyages, 332, 333, 431, 432. Belknap's Amor. Biog. I. 398 t Moultons's New-York, p. Ill et seq. Bancroft's U S I 6 i Moulton, 53 — 67. tHakluyt's Voyages, II. 295—300. N. Y. Hist. Coll. (2d Ser.) I. 45,46, 49 Come Belknap, I. 33, Miller's Discourse, N. Y. Hist. Coll. 1.24, 26, andDunlap's i New-Yorkj || O'Callaghan's New-Netherland, I, 29. IT De Laet, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. 1.291. Lambreehtsen, Ibid. I. 88. Belknap I 401 ** Plantagenet's New-Albion, 18. r' ft Wassenaer in Brodhead's Memoir, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. II. 368 369 Offvlbv's America, 168. O'Callaghan, 1. 74-76. ' "sy">y ft Do Laet, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. I, 291. Lambreehtsen, Ibid. I. 89. Hevlvn, 96 "Moulton, 344. Belknap, I. 402, 403. ' ' '^ HISTORICAL SKETCH. 13 Administrations of Mey, Van Hulst, and Minuit. of trifling value, and an alliance was concluded with the great con federacy of the Five Nations which was kept inviolate by both parties to the end of the Dutch rule in New-Netherland.* From the expiration of the charter of " The United New-Netherland Company," in 161S, special licenses for prosecuting voyages were granted to individuals,! until all the rights and privileges relating to the commerce of the New World were, on the 3d of June, 1621, merged in one of the most re markable commercial associations mentioned in history — the Dutch West India Company.}: The company did not commence its operations for about two years ; but in the mean time, several voyages were undertaken, with the ap proval of the States General, by private individuals. The subject of colonization began now to be agitated, and communications respecting it passed between the States and the company ; but there being yet no constituted authorities in New-Netherland, the matter was postponed.§ The first director-general of the new association, Cornelis Jacobsen Mey, commenced his administration at Manhattan Island in 1624. He was succeded, in 1625, by William Van Hulst, who, in 1626, gave place to the third director, Peter Minuit. Some of the company's ships had visited the country previously to the commencement of the regular gov ernment, and new fortifications had been erected both on the North and South Rivers. || But the commercial operations of the company were now to be conducted on a regular establishment. To the Director and his council, consisting of five persons, was committed, under the supervision of their superiors at home, the legislative, judicial, and executive au thority of the colony, composed principally of persons in the employ of the association.1T The success of the new arrangements was soon apparent. During the four years succeeding the arrival of Director Mey, the exports were valued at about sixty-eight thousand dollars, and the imports at about two-thirds of this amount.** The company had acquired from the original occupants no title to the island on which their settlement had been commenced. Attention was therefore turned to this matter in 1626; and the whole island * Colden's Hist, of the Five Nations, 33. t Cbalmef'sapolit. Annals, 669. Hazard's State Papers, 1. 121—131. Tr^S ^ministrations of the early ^*«K: directors. 1T Moulton, 366—369. *» De Laetin Hazard, I. 397. 2 14 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Administrations of Minuit and Van Twiller. was purchased of the Indian proprietors for twenty-four dollars. A block-house was added to the fortifications on the island, and to the station was given the name of Fort Amsterdam.* An association like that which settled New-Netherland, would not overlook any opportunity of advantageously extending their commercial relations. The colony of Plymouth had been established for nearly seven years, and no communication had passed between the Pilgrims and the Dutch in North America. The Director-general, who had received from the Indians frequent reports of his Plymouth neighbors, now dispatched his secretary, Isaac de Razier, to their settlement, with a letter of congratulation, and a proposition for mutual traffic. The offer was gladly accepted, and was the foundation of prolonged and mutually advantageous intercourse.! Thus far attention had been given solely to trade ; but, in 1629, a charter of peculiar privileges and exemptions was granted to all who should plant colonies in New-Netherland ; in consequence of which large purchases, in behalf of certain directors of the West India Com pany, were made on the North and South Rivers and Staten Island. The planting of two colonies foUowed these purchases, that of Zwanendal, or the valley of Swans, on the South River, which was soon entirely exterminated by the Indians, and that of Rensselaerswyck, the feudal rights of which were eventually vested in the heirs of Kiliaen Van Rens selaer. Disputes connected with this method of colonization, soon arose between the partners of the company, the directer-general was recalled, and the settlement of the country retarded. £ The administration of Wouter Van Twiller, who arrived as director- general in the spring of 1633, was destined to be disturbed by a contro versy that was not to end until the whole Dutch dominion in North America should fall before English cupidity. A few weeks after his arriv al, Van Twiller caused a tract of land on the Connecticut, or Fresh River, about sixty miles from its mouth, to be purchased of the Indians, on which was erected a fortifiedbuilding, called " the House of Good Hope." Soon after, he learned that the king of England had granted the whole territory on both sides of the Connecticut to persons who were speedily to occupy it. His protests, as well as those of his successor, were of no avail. The guns of Fort Good Hope were disregarded. Flourishing » Lambreehtsen, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll., 1.91,92. DeLaet, Ibid., I. 373. Let. of Isaac de Rasieres, Ibid. II. 345. O'Callaghan, I. 104. t Bradford's Letter Book, Mass. Hist. Soe. Coll.. Ill 61: II. N. Y. Hist, Coll. I. 360. Baylies's Plymouth, 1. 146, 147. Morton's New-England's Memorial, (Davis's Edit.) 133, 386, 387. Neal's New -England, (2d edit.) 126. Winthrop's Journal, (Sav age's Edit.) I. 133. Hubbard's NeW-England, 99, 100. {Moulton, 387,399— 407, 413— 416, 419. O'Callaghan, 110, 112, 121—130,137,138. Lambreehtsen, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. I. 91. Voyages of De Vries, Ibid. I. 251. Aorelius's New Sweden, Ibid. I. 408. f erris's Settlements on the Delaware, 21—23. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 15 Administrations of Kieft and Stuyvesant. towns sprang up on the river: they spread along the sea coast: and the rights ofthe Dutch were driven nearer and nearer to the Hudson River.* The successor of Van Twiller was Willem Kieft. Imperious and vindictive in his character, the whole period in which he held the reins of state, from 1638 to 1647, was marked by a series of bloodless and of sanguinary hostilities. The Swedes who, under the Swedish West India Company, had established a colony on the South" river in 1638,f and the English who were constantly encroaching on the territories of New-Netherland, gave occasion for a most violent contest of words. But in the Indian tribes he met with enemies that involved him in more serious difficulties. His policy towards them was harsh and calculated to provoke hostility. Twice was he obliged to sustain a general war with nearly all the surrounding tribes. Many of the settlements and plantations were entirely destroyed, and the whole country reduced to the greatest distress. At length the arms of the Dutch proved victorious, and peace was restored. But the maladministration of Kieft had been brought before the States General. He was recalled, and, on his return to Holland, perished by shipwreck, with all the companions of his voyage, t New-Netherland now received a governor whose talents were equal to the station he occupied. General Peter Stuyvesant arrived as director- steneial in 1647. The commencement of his administration was sig nalized by a concession to popular rights. Previously, in season of difficulty or of danger, the people had been twice called upon to ap point a board of representatives who, without possessing any power, might make known the wishes ofthe people.? Now a board of nine men was constituted to represent the commonalty, whose opinions were to be received on important occasions, and who were to become arbitrators in such civil cases as might be referred to them. The seeds of liberty rapidly germinated among the people. In vain did the director-general * De Vries II N Y. Hist. Coll. I. 254, 261, 274. Lambreehtsen, Ibid. 92, 99' 100 Winthrop i' 112. 113,166, 173, 175,217, 259. II. 139. Morton, 172, 395. Neal's N^w-En^aniwi-V 169, 170. Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, (Choules's Edit 317, 339 340 Hubbard, 171, 172, 179, 244, 245, 322,323.432,433. Mather's Magnalia, I, 7B ' Tn'imhull's Co-nn. I. 35, 59, 96, 118, 132. 155—158 t Representation of New-Netherland, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. II. 282. Acrelius's New -Sweden Ibid. I. 409. Clay's Ann'als of the Swedes. 18 Ferris. 35-39. The assertion of Thomas Campanius Holm, (N. Y. Hist. Coll. II. 355 ) copied by many of Se Nearly historians, that the settlement of the Swedes was made in 1631, is entirely Wit^U„tfrrnDonck I NY Hist Coll. I. 162. De Vries, Ibid. I. 266-273,288-293 n* „fl IT M?-293 O'Callaghan, I. 270-278,282-303 312-317, 347, 348, 384. II. « ?f Colonfal "Records II N . Y. Hist. Coll. I. 275, 276, 278, 279. Plantagenet, 19 LtaMWhS II 96, 97, 135, 136, 157. Neal's New-Eng. IM- Mather, I. 4« Hubbard 365, 441^442, 444.' Belknap's New-Hampshire, 50. Trumbull, 138-140. S?^CVrt,DHenCN2YFHi°t' CoiiIViN2°666: Representation of New-Netherland, Ibfd 299T300.' Colo^al Records, Ibid. I. 277. O'CalLghan, I. 242, 243, 283-285. 16 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Administration of Stuyvesant.— Conquest by the English. contend for the full exercise of the prerogative. In vain did his su periors in Holland long oppose the wishes ofthe people. In 1652, New- Amsterdam, with a population of nearly a thousand souls, received an act of incorporation, by which the government ofthe city was placed in the hands of a schoat, burgomasters, and schepens.* In 1654, the Swedes, against whom protests had been of no avail, seized upon Fort Casimir, and took possession of the whole territory of the South river. This was followed, the next year, by an expedition against them from New- Amsterdam, which resulted, without bloodshed, in the entire expulsion of Swedish dominion from North America. t The contests which it was found necessary to wage with the Indians, were far more sanguinary. Two wars with the Esopus Indians, in 1659 and 1663, were attended with all the horrors of Indian barbarity. But the aborigines were, as in all cases, compelled to purchase peace ; and the attention of the director-general was turned to more powerful enemies that threatened the infant state. t The English had continued their encroachments. § They had often called upon the government at home to adopt hostile measures against the Dutch settlement, and the Protector, in the war with Holland, in 1654, had even gone so far as to send a fleet to this country for that pur pose, whose operations were only suspended by the re-establishment of peace. || English jealousy still existed ; and, in 1664, Charles II. gave a grant of the whole territory of New-Netherland to his brother James, Duke of York, who at once determined to subjugate the country. A fleet, under the command of Col. Richard Nichols, arrived at Boston in the summer of that year, and summoned the aid ofthe New-England colonies. It appeared before New- Amsterdam on the 28th of August, and demanded the surrender of -the city and of the province. The brave Stuyvesant would have resisted, but, constrained by the united expostulations of the burghers, agreed, on the 8th of September, 1664, to articles of capitulation by which the province was delivered, on the most honor able and advantageous terms, into the hands of its enemies. Colonel Nichols now assumed the government of the country. The name of the * O'Callaghan, II. 20, 36-40,59,66, 67,84, 85,89—94, 140—144, 156, 157, 169 170 192, 193, ^10—214, 540. Representation of New-Netherland, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. II. 308. Records of Burgomasters and Schepens, I. 105. 109. t Acrelius. II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. I. 414 — 418. Holm, Ibid. (1st Ser.) II. 357. 358. S. Smith's New-Jersey, 33, 34. O'Callaghan, II. 274—276, 284—289. Clav 28—30. Ferris, 81— 98. ¦" i O'Callaghan, II. 394—401. 407—413, 415—420, 473—482. Ij Lambreehtsen, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. I. 94, 101—106. 110, 111. Van der Donck Ibid I. 144. Trumbull, I. 258. Let. of Stuyvesant, Mass. Hist. Coll VI 209 210 ' || Thurloe's State Papers, II. 418-420,' 425, 426. Trumbull, 212,'219,220.' Bancroft, 11.295,308. ' 4 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 17 Re-conquest by the Dutch.— Local Interests. province, as well as that of the metropolis, was changed, in honor of the proprietor, to that of New- York.* In 1665, the city received a charter from Gov. Nichols, placing it under the care of a Mayor, Aldermen, and a Sheriff. English customs, during the few succeeding years, were rapidly introduced, to the exclu sion of the modes of life and the usages of the Knickerbockers. f The city had been but nine years under British rule, when the for tunes of war restored it to the original proprietors. A rupture had oc curred between England and Holland. On the 30th of July, 1673, a. Dutch squadron entered the harbor, and demanded the immediate sur render of the province. Their demand was not complied with, and their guns were opened upon the fort. Capt. Manning, the command ant, was ill supplied with ammunition, but defended the place until resistance was, in his opinion, useless. After the surrender, Anthony Colve was appointed, by the commanders of the squadron, governor of the province, but his office was brought to a close by the treaty of the following year, which restored the country to the dominion of England. % The Duke of York, to secure his title to the territory to which he had given his name now, procured a new patent, by which he enjoyed near ly absolute control over New-York until he ascended the throne in 1685, when all his rights became vested, with new and more important pow ers in the crown.§ The city of New- York had, until this time, formed so important a part of the body-politic, and its interests had been so identified with those of the country at large, that its history thus far is almost the history of the province. Bat the metropolis began to assume a distinct character, and new interests, purely local, were gradually developed. » Minutes of Common Council of N. Y. II. 318—322. Bancroft, II. 312—315. Smith's New- York, I 14—33. Aitzema's Hist of the United Provinces, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. 11.379, 380. 'Lambreehtsen, Ibid. I. 112. Morton, 310, 311. Neal's New-Eng. 360, 361. Hubbard, 577. Ogylby, 169. S. Smith, 35-46. Trumbull, 266-269 t Minutes of Com. Coun. I. 179, 180. II. 301, 324, 325. Smith, I. 40. Dunlap's New- YtrThea1ccounfsyofythIe6surrenderof New- York in M73, as given by the historians, vary essentially from the truth. The statements of Smith, fi. 43,) that not a shot" was fired, and that the fort was " treacherously" abandoned : of Bancroft (II. 322,) that ".the city was surrendered without a blow": of Trumbull, (I 823,) that" Manning treacherously gave up the fort ;" of B. F. Butler, (Discourse, II N. Y. Hist Coif. II 34,) that the city was "surrendered without a struggle ;" of J. W. Beekman (Proceedings of N. Y. Hist. Soo. for 1847, p. 102,) that "no resistance was anywhere met with ;'• and of most others who have described the surrender are shown by the documents procured in London by Mr. Bedhead to be entirely without foundation. A letter written from Boston to Mr. Harwood, represents that four guns , were i fired . iiom the fort. Lambrechteen, who says (II. N. Y. Hist. Soo. Coll. f. 114) that :' the con quest was made without great opposition" and Aorehus who says (II NY .Hist Coll. I. 425) that the Dutch, "took New-York by storm," come the nearest to the truth. 6 Bancroft, II. 325, 403. 2* 18 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Rise and Fall of Leisler.— Trial of Bayard.— Commerce. The bolting, packing, and exportation of flour and meal, of which the city enjoyed a monopoly, became the most important branch of trade. Dissatisfaction on the part of the country people ensued ; and their complaints eventually succeeded, in spite of the petitions and protests of the city authorities, and not without the serious misgivings of the citizens as to their future destiny, in removing the odious mono poly.* But important events had, in the mean time, given rise to more power ful commotions in New- York. The tyrant James was a fugitive. Wil liam and Mary had ascended the throne. . Some of the inhabitants, anxious to exhibit their loyalty, had proclaimed the new sovereigns. They made choice of Jacob Leisler, a merchant, as their leader, who, on the 3d of June, 16S9, with the approbation ofthe populace, assumed the goverment of the colony. The mayor of the city and several pro minent citizens, though in favor of William and Mary, opposed these proceedings, and finally retired to Albany. That town determined to resist the authority of Leisler, but was obliged to yield to a military force. On the arrival of a new governor, Col. Henry Sloughter, in 1691, Leisler hesitated to deliver the fort to an agent sent to demand its sur render, and desired to confer with the principal. This was made by his enemies a pretext for a charge of treason against him. He was ar rested, tried, and, through the machinations of his enemies, unjustiy sentenced to death, and executed. f The struggles of the citizens against the encroachments of the royal governors, form an important feature in the history of New-York. Twice, during the administration of Gov. Cornbury, was money embezzled by him which had been appropriated by the provincial assembly to the defence of the frontiers and of the capital.} But, a few months previ ously to his arrival, in 1702, the citizens had been inflamed by a more fearful invasion of their rights. Col. Nicholas Bayard and Alderman John Hutchins, for refusing to deliver up addresses which had been prepared by many of the inhabitants for presentation to the king, the parliament, and the new governor, were tried for high treason, and sen tenced to death ; but they were subsequently released, and their attain ders reversed. § New-York began, in the early part of the eighteenth century, to excite * Minutes of Com. Coun. I. 143, 167-169^243-215, 254-256, 260, 261, 372 II 58 93-96 HO' IS?', 143 1U aM'26i-366' 2M-326' 345' 3«. Dunlap/l. 233. II. !3u, 133, 134 l^ t Smith, I. 91—99, 109—111, 113, 114, 117—119. Dunlap I 153—172 lQ4_oli Miller's Description, 19, 20. Trumbull, 1. 378. Minutes 'ol Com. Coun. I. 344- t Dunlap, 1.255—261, 263. Smith. I. 174—185 4 Howell's State Trials, XIV. 471—173, 516. Smith, I. 163—168. Dunlap, I. 248-252. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 19 Education. — Trial of Zenger. much attention as a commercial emporium. The productions of the northern colonies were accumulated in her warehouses, and shipped thence to England and the West Indies. Her participation in the West India trade often excited the jealousy of interested parties beyond the Atlantic, but it was not difficult for enlightened minds to perceive that a trade, whose returns, in money or goods, were shipped to England in exchange for her manufactures, could not be disadvantageous to the pa rent country.* The interests of education, and the diffusion of intelligence among the masses, had been grossly neglected; bnt'their importance gradually received attention. A free grammar school had been founded by law in 1702.t In 1725, the first newspaper commenced its existence, J and, four years after, the city received, as a gift from a society in England, a library of 1642 volumes. § In 1732, stage routes to Boston and Phila delphia were established, and the stages performed once in two weeks. || A public classical school was founded by the assembly in 1732.11 With the advance of general intelligence came a higher appreciation of popular rights, and a determination to uphold them. Nor was long wanting an opportunity to resist the encroachments of arbitrary power. John Peter Zenger, the Editor ofthe New-York Weekly Journal, in the colonial disputes of 1734, took occasion to animadvert upon the measures of the government. Copies of his paper were ordered by the governor and council to be burned in presence of the mayor and magistrates of the city, who refused to attend, and entered their protest against the measure. Zenger was arrested, and every effort made to convict him on a charge of libel. The only two lawyers in the city who could be intrusted with his defence, Messrs. Alexander and Smith, were ex cluded from their profession for calling in question the authority of the court. The people were greatly excited. The aged Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, distinguished alike for his talents and his love of liberty, was at once engaged to plead the cause of popular right. He was successful. Tbe jury, without leaving their seats, returned a ver dict of acquittal ; and Hamilton left the province with a gift of the freedom of the city, and amidst the acclamations of the people.** * Survey of Trade, (London, 1718,) 146. Miller, 10. Let. of Chas. Lodwick, II. N. Y. Hist. Coll. II. 244. Minot's Continuation of Hist, of Mass. Bay, I. 162. + Minutes of Com. Coun. II. 517, 619, 520. Smith, I. 175. 1 Thomas's Hist, of Printing, II. 94. Dunlap, App. 160. Watson's Annals, 287. $ Minutes of Com. Coun. IV. 175, 176, 191—193, 195, 196. Dunlap, App. 162. [| Dunlap, App. 227. fl Minutes of Com. Coun. IV. 303 — 489, passim. Smith, II. 8. *» Howell's State Trials, XVII. 675 et. seq. Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger. Minutes of Com. Coun. IV. 364, 367, 368. Proud's Pa. p. 219, note. • Gordon's Pa. 613: Watson, 287. Watson gives the name as Zanger, an error he committed in copying from the records. 20 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Negro Plot.— War of the Revolution.— Capture of New-York. But New- York was destined to be convulsed by a more lamentable commotion. For many years occasional disturbances had occurred among the negro population. In 1741, a few fires and a robbery gave rise to a general alarm, which, on slight and contradictory testimony as to the existence of a plot among the negroes and others to destroy the city, passed into complete infatuation. Numbers were executed or transported ; but humanity and good sense finally prevailed, and quiet was restored * The trade of New- York increased. Her ships were already seen in many foreign ports, and no rival, not even Philadelphia, surpassed her in the extent of her commercial operations. f Provisions, linseed oil, furs, lumber, and iron, were the principal exports f From 1749 to 1750, two hundred and eighty-six vessels left New- York, with cargoes princi pally of flour and grain. In 1755, nearly thirteen thousand hogsheads of flaxseed were shipped to Ireland. § The relations of the colonies with the mother country were assuming a serious aspect. In 1765, a congress of delegates met at New-York, and prepared a declaration of their rights and grievances. || The arrival of the stamped paper, so notorious in the colonial annals of America, towards the end of this year, marked the commencement of a series of explosions that was not to terminate until the city and colony of New- York, in common with the other colonies, were forever rent from the dominion of Great Britain. IT The non-importation agreements of the merchants of New-York and other places, in 1768 and the succeeding years, were followed by stringent measures on the part of the English government. War became inevitable, and all eyes were soon directed to New- York as the point where the enemy would strike a blow at the heart of the country.** On the 28th of June, 1776, the British army and fleet, which had been driven from the city and harbor of Boston, entered the southern bay of New-York. The troops were landed upon Staten Island. On the 22d of August the British forces crossed the Narrows, and encamped near Brooklyn where the American army was stationed. The battle of Long Island ensued, in which, owing to unfortunate circumstances, the Americans were entirely defeated. Washington, with consummate skill, crossed the river, the succeeding night, without observation, but * Horsmanden's Hist, of the Negro Plot, 1744 passim . Pintard in Preface to Second Edit, of same, 1810. Minutes of Com. Coun. V. 13, 14, 19 24,40,51. Smith, II. 70-75. t Kalm's Travels, (2d Lond. Edit.) II. 198—201. Bowen's Geography, II. 661, 662. Ler. to Lord George Germain. (Lond. 1776,) 7. 1 Kalm,201. Bowen, 661. Burnaby's Travels, 63v 66. Burke's European Settle ments, II. 189, 199. 137, Ibid, 191. !} Marshall's Amer. Colonies, 360, 361. || Holmes's Annals, II. 137. II Ibid. II. 155, 166. Marshall, 385. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 21 Evacuation of the City. — Increase of Trade. — Misfortunes. the previous disasters, and the subsequent successful landing of the British troops at Kip's and Turtle's bays, rendered it impossible to save the city.* For eight years New- York was the head-quarters of the British troops, and the prison-house of American captives. Public buildings were des poiled, and churches converted into hospitals, prisons, riding-schools, and stables, and subjected to the desecrations of a wanton and impious sol- diery.f Casualty united with the horrors of war to swell the misfortunes of the devoted city. A fire, in 1776, sweeping along both sides of Broad way, destroyed one-eighth of the buildings of New-York.f The British rule in this metropolis for the third and last time came to an end. On the 25th of November, 1783, the forces of Great Britain evacuated the city, and Washington and the governor of the State made a public and triumphal entry.§ The city of New- York, in common with other portions of the country, had already been declared free and independent ; but its freedom had been nominal. The sweets of liberty were now tasted; and many of those demonstrations and events which were considered the precursors and the pledges of those fruits of liberty which the whole people antici pated, took place in New- York. In 1788, the adoption of the federal con stitution was attended by a most imposing celebration, || and, in 1789, Washington was inaugurated in New- York as first President of the United States, amidst the acclamations of thousands of spectators. IT - The restoration of peace, and the rise of the new government, were the signal for extending the commercial relations of New- York. In ten years her population had nearly doubled, and, in the early part of the present century, her claims, as the leading emporium of the continent, were con clusively established, and all prospect that the current of trade would be diverted into any other channel entirely dissipated.** But misfortune was not entirely removed from the metropolis. Riot, pestilence, fire, and war, were at hand to disturb her peace, cripple her means, or desolate her borders. In 1788, the community. were thrown into consternation by an attack made upon the medical profession by an infuriated mob. The phrensy of some of the people had been excited by an imprudent exposure of a portion of a dissected body. After a eontest * Holmes, 245, et. seq. Sparks's Life of Washington, I. 169, 170, 176—179, 185, 186 199. Ramsey's U. S. 114—135. t Watson, 325, 326. Sparks, I. 224. Knapp's Life of Burr, 42. t Watson. \ Holmes, II. 351, 529, 530. Sparks, I. 370. || Duer's Address, 22—27. IT lb. 27, 28. Life of John Jay by his son, I. 273. Sparks, I. 408. ** Morse's Gazetteer, (1797,) art. N. Y. city. Dwight's Travels, III. 470. Holmes, II. 390, 395. N. Y. Spectator, June 4, 1801. 22 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Prosperity. — Canal Navigation. of three or four days, in which several lives were lost, the mob was en tirely subdued by the military ; and the occurrence was signalized by the name ofthe doctors' riot."* In 1798 and the succeeding years, the city was nearly depopulated in consequence of pestilence. Over three thou sand persons in one year fell victims to the ravages of the yellow fever. f Large fires took place in 1804 and 181 1.% But the interests ofthe city were more seriously injured by the breaking out of war between the United States and England in 1812. For a time her commerce was almost suspended by disturbances on the ocean ; but the enemy did not choose to brave the fortifications that had been erected in her harbor, and, with the exception of a slight apprehension, the- quiet of the community was preserved. § These misfortunes passed away. Various interruptions of the public peace led to improvements in the police system of New-York, until it was pronounced more efficient than that of other American cities. || The ravages of pestilence and fire impressed upon the mind the necessity of greater precaution and more prompt and vigorous measures in the health and fire departments. And the cessation of war opened again the waters of the world to the commerce of New- York. Soon her sails were un folded in every sea; and the establishment of her regular lines of packets, the first undertaking of the kind in the countiy, and the introduction of steam-navigation, first used upon her waters, added to her commercial superiority over the other ports of the republic. T Improvements hitherto had been principally connected with foreign com merce. But a tremendous impulse was now to be given to inland trade by the adoption of an extensive system of canal-navigation. Several smaller works were cast into the shade by the completion of the gigantic Erie Canal, in 1825. The union of the Atlantic with the Lakes, was announced by the firing of cannon along the whole line of the canal and of the Hudson, and was celebrated at New-York by a magnificent aqua tic procession, which, to indicate more clearly the navigable communica tion that had been opened, deposited in the ocean a portion of the waters of Lake Erie.** * Minutes of Com. Coun. IX. 65. Duer, 20—22. Life of Jay, 261. 262. Watson, 298. t Holmes, II. 413. Watson. Minutes ol Com. Conn. XII. 377 381, 431, 432. Sup plement to Commercial Advertiser. Feb. 12, 1799. N. Y. Spect. Sept. 7. 1799. t Minutes of Com. Coun. XXIII. 251—253. 262,274. 351. Holmes, II. 444.' I Minutes of Com. Coun. XVII. 72, 73, 66, 99, 116, 117 , 176. 190, 202, 207, 211. 241. XXV. 186, 187. |[ Dwight, III. 474, 475. Palmer's Travels, 828. IF Colden's Life of Fulton, 166—177, 181, 186. Minutes of Com. Coun. XXIII. 247 328,343 XXV. 293 XXVI. 3, 93. 109, 110, 120— 123. *» Minutes of Com. Coun. LV. 236, 258, 342. LVI. 21,22, 24, 103,158. LVII. 284. Colden's Memoir of the N. Y. Canals, passim. Pitkin's Statistical View, 642 — 548. The statement of Watson, (p. 138,) and some others, that the canal was completed, and the consummation of the work celebrated in 1824, is incorrect. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 23 Misfortunes. — Croton Aqueduct. — Comparative Importance of New-York. Municipal history is a narrative of alternate successes and reverses. For many years nothing had occurred to mar the prosperity of the city. But misfortune came. In 1832, the Asiatic cholera appeared, and thou sands fell victims to the disease. This calamity had scarcely passed when the great fire of 1835 destroyed, in one night, more than six hundred buildings, and property to the value of over twenty millions of dollars.* The city had not recovered from the effects of this disaster when the com mercial revulsions of 1836 and 1837 shook public and private credit to tbeir center, and involved many of the most wealthy houses in New- York in hopeless bankruptcy. The day of prosperity again dawned upon the metropolis, and the completion of one of the greatest works of modern times, soon gave evidence that the untiring energy of her sons had retrieved their credit and their fortunes. The want of an adequate supply of water had long been felt by the citizens, but the completion of the Croton Aqueduct in 1S42, removed the inconvenience, and left an imperishable monument to the glory of New- York. A temporary check in the onward progress of the city was sustained by the fire of 1845, which destroyed property to the value of about seven millions of dollars. In the spring of 1849, took place a fearful riot con nected with a theatrical dispute, in which twenty-three lives were lost. The summer of the present year has been marked by an apprehension of the ravages of the cholera, but comparatively few deaths have occurred. Such is a brief sketch of the rise and progress of the city that holds the first rank in the Western World, and is but the second, in commercial importance, on the globe. While the settlement of other cities of America received an impulse from religious or political intolerance abroad, the foundations of New- York were laid on the hopes of commercial gain. While other cities sprung up and prospered under the vigorous manage ment of those who had transferred to the wilderness their homes, their fortunes, and their liberty, New- York languished under the neglect and mismanagement of a foreign corporation. While other cities rapidly ad vanced under the chartered rights of provinces, New- York was forced to maintain a servile dependence on the crown. While other cities pursued a comparatively uninterrupted course, New-York was often the theater of *gThis estimate is higher than that of most statements, but accords with the opinion of those conversant with the circumstances. The amount of loss ascertained from the assertions of the sufferers, by the committee appointed at the time to investigate the subject, fell, as is usual in such cases, for an obvious reason connected with mercantile credit, below the actual loss. 24 HISTORICAL SKETCH. The future as compared with the past. convulsion and of war. But New- York possessed commercial facilities which other cities possessed not, and the want of the impulses and ad vantages enjoyed by her rivals, was not sufficient to prevent the develop ment and use of her capabilities. Against the greatest disparity, New- York has risen above competition, and stands the unrivaled metropolis of America. To those among the living whose energy has contributed to the prosperity of New- York, the rank she holds as an emporium of the world must be gratifying. But her future prospects are no less interesting to her sons ; and often the eager inquiry arises, will this unparalleled rapidity of pro gress continue ? Will New- York surpass the cities of the Eastern, as she has surpassed those of the Western World ? This inquiry it will be our purpose to answer when we have surveyed in detail her present state, and ascertained the nature and stability of her institutions. NEW-IOEE—THE PRESENT. " Triumphant Sylla ! could'st thou then divine, By aught but Romans Rome should thus be laid ?" Byron. CHAPTER I. DESCRIPTION. What hath not time wrought 1 Could the encerprising navigator of the Hudson revisit the scenes of his discoveries, would he not exclaim " where isMannahata?" Could the burgomasters and schepens of a former dynasty again tread the soil over which their jurisdiction once extended, would they not exclaim "where is Nieuw Amsterdam?" And yet two centuries have scarce elapsed since the former pointed out the location, and the latter directed the progress, of the infant state. Two centuries have sufficed to convert a settlement of a few trading houses into a me tropolis equaled, in size, or commercial importance, by few in the world. Where the Indian paddled his light canoe, now floats the gigantic battle-ship ; the shores that received the contents ofthe fishing wiers, are now lined with the vehicles of commerce ; the solitary foot path that ¦wound through the forest has disappeared, and in the wide avenues are seen the busy crowds ; where the sacrifices of a superstitious religion were offered, the spires of Christian sanctuaries now point to heaven. The island of New York, the whole of which is included within the limits of the city, is about 13 1-3 miles in length from north to south, with an average breadth of one mile and three fourths. It is bounded on the north by Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvel Creek, which connect to gether and separate it from the main land ; on the east by the East River ; on the south by the Harbor ; and on the west by the Hudson or North River. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a capacious harbor, twenty- five miles in circumference, which is connected with an outer bay and the ocean by a strait called the Narrows. The avenues to the city are well defended. At the Narrows, are Fort Hamilton and La Fayette on Long Island, and Forts Tompkins and Rich mond on Staten Island. Fort La Fayette is built on a reef two hundred yards from the shore and is covered by Fort Hamilton ; Fort Tompkins, 28 DESCRIPTION. Surrounding Waters — Surface of the Island — Streets. standing on the hights of Staten Island, and noted for its many subterran ean passages, protects Fort Richmond and other sea coast batteries. The in ner harbor contains Governor's, Bedlow's and Ellis's islands, all strongly fortified. On the North West point of Governor's Island stands Castle Wil liams, a circular stone battery, connected by a covered passage with Fort Columbus, built in the shape of a star, on the South side ofthe island. Another battery commands the passage, between Governor's Island and Long Island, called Buttermilk Channel. The entrance to the East River from Long Island Sound is protected by Fort Schuyler on Throg's Neck, With these defences New York may never fear bombardment. The appearance ofthe island was originally greatly diversified. Sudden acclivities and craggy rocks were intermingled with ponds and marshes. But the magic wand of art has passed over the place. Hills, moving from their foundations, have driven the angler from his brooks, and the skat ing boy from the scenes of his favorite sport. The island of New York presents a field for geological research not devoid of interest. Its rocks are almost exclusively primitive, and con sist chiefly of gneiss, micaceous gneiss, hornblendic gneiss, hornblende slate, hornblende rock, limestone, the anthophyllite rook, and granite_ The prevailing rook is micaceous gneiss, which underlies the lower portion ofthe island, being covered by a bed of diluvium, but as we proceed farther north crops out in many places. The diluvium is from ten to eighty feet in depth, and rests on the same or greater thickness of alluvial or tertiary sands, which last are highly stratified, and in many places exhibit the appearance of ripples as from the retiring waves ofthe ocean. The northern extremity of the island is composed of limestone. Nor is New York altogether wanting in mineralogical interest. Quartz chrystals, rose quartz, epidote, tourmaline, brown garnets, serpentine, red stilbite, white pyrozene, fetid felspar, iron pyrites, and white tremo- lite, are some of the minerals which the rocks of New York reveal to the gaze and examination of science.* The southern portion of the island, including about one fifth of the whole area, is compactly built. The remainder is mostly under tillage. A few narrow and crooked streets that have existed from the days of Pieter Wolfersten Van Couwenhoven, and which, according to the facetious Knickerbocker, were opened by the kine of the settlement, have occasion ed much scandal as to the regularity of New- York ; but that must be a superficial view that passes over those noble streets that traverse nearly the * State Geological Survey, DESCRIPTION. 29 whole length of the city without a deviation to the right hand or to the left, or all the northern half of the compact part of the city which scarce includes an angle more or less than 90°, or those spacious and splendid avenues that, eleven in number, and each 100 feet in width, run parallel to each other through the upper wards to the remote extremity of the island. In a few years, too, the most irregular portions of the city may perhaps suit those who now declaim so loudly against its want of regularity. Pro bably no other city would have evinced the public spirit of New York in widening and straightening its ancient streets. Large piles of valuable buildings have opposed no barrier to the accomplishment of this object. The work of improvement is not yet completed. While we write, the crash of buildings, under the hand of innovation, can be heard, making way for an outlet to one of the principal business streets ofthe city.* Broadway is the great thoroughfare of New- York. It extends from the Battery, or southern extremity of the city, about N. E. by N.f to Union Place, a distance of 2 1-2 miles, in a perfectly straight line, with the excep tion of a slight angle a few rods before its termination. The great prome nade for beauty and fashion, it contains the largest and most splendid re tail stores in the city. Here may be seen the silks of China and the rich fabrics of India and Thibet ; the manufactories of Europe and our own continent have here poured forth their treasures ; the precious metals have been made tributary, and the glittering windows display the in genuity of art. Broadway, though 80 feet wide, is too contracted for the free passage of the numerous vehicles with which it is always thronged. The principal lines of omnibuses pass through this street, but their pro gress in its lower portionis so slow, that their utility for short distances is much diminished. To obviate this inconvience an elevated railway has been proposed, but opposition of some of the citizens to this measure has yet to be removed. Among other streets prominent for width, length or beauty, may be mentioned the Bowery, East and West Broadway, and Chatham, Canal Hudson and Greenwich streets. Pearl street, one mile and three eighths in length, at the same time the most irregular and the most important business street in the city, commences at State-street, a short distance from Broadway, and having described a zigzag curve terminates in Broadway, nearly a mile from the Battery. Pearl street, a hundred and fifty years ago, was the shore of the East River. f Maiden Lane, now a most important business street, was the favorite resort of the maidens * "William-street, the upper part of which was formerly called Horse-and-cart-st. f The exact direction is |V. 36° E. 1 Moulton's New-York, 428. New-Orange, 30. Manual of Com. Coun. (1848,) 347 Watson, 173. 30 DESCRIPTION. Pavements. of Nieuw-Amsterdam.* The southern portion of the city is almost ex clusively devoted to business purposes, and a more minute description will be appropriate when we come to speak of the trade and commerce of New York. The northern portion of the island, most of which is not yet thickly settled, was laid out in a regular manner, under the superintendence of Governeur Morris, De Witt Clinton and John Rutherford, commission ers appointed for the purpose by the legislature of New York in 1807. The survey by John Randall, Jr. was commenced in 1811 and occupied ten years. The avenues before alluded to were laid out in this survey, and have been cut through the opposing rocks and hills at great expense. They are intersected by 136 cross streets, numerically designated, which, with the avenues, form oblong rectangles, most of them 200 by 800 feet. The streets are mostly paved with the common round paving stone. But the " Russ Pavement," invented by Horace P. Russ, Esq., has during the last two years been introduced into several places in the city. Though expensive, it is most durable, and will doubtless prove in the end the cheapest that could be used. It consists of blocks of trap, about 10 inches in depth, laid in ranges, in lozenge formed division, by which the edges are presented diagonally to the wheel tire of carriages. This superstructure rests upon a substructure of concrete, arranged in sections that can be lifted out to afford access to the pipes beneath. This substructure likewise rests upon a foundation of chips of granite or other stone; the whole forming a consolidated mass, about 18 inches in thick ness, that it does not seem possible to equal in durability. The first block of this pavement was laid in Broadway, between Chambers and Reade streets, in July, 1846, at an expense of $3991 ; $1350 of which was paid by the corporation, §990 by property owners, and the balance by Mr. Russ. In August, 1847, the block in Broadway, between Washington and Waverley Places, embracing 840 square yards, was laid at an ex pense of $4600, one-third of which was paid by the corporation, and the balance by property owners. In 1S4S, the space around the Herald and Sun buildings, (coiner of Nassau and Fulton streets,) 680 square yards was paved at an expense of $3,700, the corporation paying $651, the proprietors of the Herald and Sun the balance of the amount. These experiments apparently successful in their issue caused the corporation * The first name applied to the location was "the ladies' valley " It was subse quently called L' the virgins' path," and in 1692, twe-nty-eight years after the sur render to the English.it first appears on the records of the city, under the title of " Green lane." In 1696, it was laid out and regulated, and received its present name. Minutes of Com. Coun. Moulton's New-Orange, 36. Manual of Com. Coun (1848.) 349, DESCRIPTION. 31 Public Grounds— The Battery. to decide upon laying down this pavement, at the sole expense of the city, in Broadway, from Chambers-street to Maiden Lane, a space embracing about 9000 square yards, and the contracts were performed, in 1848 and 1849, by Messrs. Russ & Reid at $5,50 per square yard. There can be no doubt that this pavement will, in a few years, supersede all others in the great thoroughfares of the city. Although New York is not so well supplied with Public Grounds as might be desired, in consequence of the neglect of the City Fathers to reserve, when the soil was not as valuable as at present, a sufficient portion for this purpose ; yet we can boast of several splendid prome nades, and one not surpassed, if equaled, in this countiy. The Battery, at the southern extremity of the island, forms an irregu lar figure, resembling a quarter section of the space included between two concentric circles.* As its name denotes, it was formerly devoted to the defence of the city, but the embankments thrown up by the Dutch were not kept in repair, and the wide spreading sycamores that soon over- shaded these military preparations were consecrated to a far different purpose. " The old burghers would repair of an afternoon to smoke their pipes under the shade of their branches, contemplating the goldensun, as he gradually sunk in the west, an emblem of that tranquil end toward which themselves were hastening ; while the young men and the damsels ofthe town would take many a moonlight stroll among these favorte haunts, watching the chaste Cynthia tremble along the calm bosom ofthe bay, or light up the white sail of some gliding bark, and interchanging the honest vows of constant affection. Such was the origin of that re nowned walk, the battery, which, though ostensibly devoted to the pur poses of war, has ever been consecrated to the sweet delights of peace."f Nor was the enchantment of this scene confined to the time of the Knick erbocker maidens. Extended in its limits ; inclosed by an iron railing on the side next the city, and by an open railing with stone posts on a foundation of solid masonry on the water side ; laid out with grass plots and gravel walks ; planted with many additional trees ; and presenting a view enlivened at different times by the sails of everv nation ; it draws within its precincts by a more irresistible attraction, the young men and maidens of our own days, whose breasts are heaving with tender emotions, as well as all, of whatever age, sex or condition in life, who desire to avoid the noise and dust of the busy metropolis. " The favorite walk of declining age ; the healthful resort ofthe feeble invalid ; the Sunday re- * The gazetteers and all the hand-books call this figure a crescent. The extremi ties instead of terminating in points are wider than the center. t VV, Irving. 32 DESCRIPTION. Bowling Green— City Park. freshment of the dusty tradesman ; the scene of many a boyish gambol the rendezvous of many a tender assignation ; the comfort of the citizen ; the ornament of New York, and the pride of the lovely island of Man- nahatta," — such is the encomium it has justly earned from the most beautiful of American writers. The Bowling Green, an ellipse, whose diameters are respectively two hundred and twenty and one hundred and forty feet, situated at the foot of Broadway, likewise claims attention for many historical associa tions. It was here that the Knickerbockers were accustomed to engage in the sport of bowling, and hence originated the name it still bears. On the twenty-first day of August, 1770, a procession, moving to the sound of martial music and the discharge of cannon, had celebrated the birth day of the reigning monarch, George III, by erecting in the Bowling Green, a leaden equestrian statue of the King. Six years is often a sufficient period to shake the feelings of loyalty. In April, 1776, a. body of the people, who had strongly imbibed the spirit of liberty, under the lead of one Belden, overthrew the horse and his rider, and distributed the leaden materials of which they were composed among the military companies, who melted them into musket balls to be used against the soldiers of the very king whom the statue represented. Previous to this incident, the balls that surmounted the posts of the iron railing inclosing the Green had been broken off, and to this day the marks of violence remain. One entire post, with its head upon its shoulders, still stands near the southern entrance to the Green, a memento of the former glory of its brethren. The Green is now ornamented with a fountain supplied by the Water Works of the city. The jets are made to fall upon an uncouth mass of rocks which, in the opinion of some, gives to the scene a "wild and picturesque appearance." As we proceed up Broadway, the next public ground that meets our view is the " City Park," bounded by Broadway, Chatham, Center, and Chambers streets. Its shape is that of a right angled triangle with one of the acute angles cut off by a line parallel to the opposite side. It contains over eleven acres, and is surrounded by an iron fence, on a plinth of brown freestone, that cost the city over $15,000. Four public bnildings, the City Hall, the New City Hall, the Hall of Records, and the Rotunda, formerly the Post-Office, but now occupied by the offices of the Aims-House Department, are included within its limits. The most interest ing feature of the Park is a large fountain near its southern termination, which throws the water in a single stream to the hight of seventy feet. Thejets are so arranged as to admit of various combinations, which is far more pleasing than a uniformity of the most beautiful figure. The basin of the fountain is one hundred feet wide, and surrounded by a marble DESCRIPTION. 33 Hudson, "Washington and Tompkins -Squares — Union Place — Gramercy Park. border. The space between the basin and an ornamental iron railing that surrounds it at the distance of 12 feet, is embellished with shrubs and flowering plants. Hudson Square, or St. John's Park, is a highly ornamented enclosure, of about four acres, situated in front of St. John's Church, and bounded by Hudson, Laight, Varick and Beach streets. It stands in the name of the corporation of Trinity Church, though it is virtually the property of the surrounding owners ; and its privileges are confined to the proprietors and such others as are permitted on their recommendation to hire keys at the annual charge of ten dollars. It is surrounded by an iron fence, contains a most beautiful fountain, and is more abundantly supplied with shrubs and flowers than any other park in the city. Washington Square, containing nine and a half acres, bounded by Waverley Place, (named in honor of the author of "Waverley,") and Woos- ter, Fourth, and McDougal streets, was formed in 1827 by adding to the ground formerly used as the Potter's Field about one half more purchased of private owners. The bones were collected and deposited in trenches on the sides of the square. Washington Square, has been until recently, the principal military parade ground in the city. Tompkins Square, containing more than ten acres, between Avenues A and B, and Seventh and Tenth Streets, is now used for the exhibition of military tactics ; but the trees have not yet sufficiently grown to render it a desirable promenade. This portion of the city is now being rapidly settled, and Tompkins Square, one of the largest enclosures on the lower part of the island, will doubtless, in a few years, become a place of fre quent resort. Union Place, at the northern termination of Broadway, an ellipse, whose longer diameter is 656 feet and its shorter 292 feet, is ornamented by an expensive iron fence, an elegant fountain, and beautiful walks and shrubbery. It is surrounded by splendid private mansions, some of which are of costly magnificence, and its vicinity is the most fash ionable portion of the city. Gramercy Park, between the 3d and 4th Avenues, and 20th and 21st Streets, is 400 feet long and 184 wide. It is a private park belonging to the proprietors of the sixty adjacent lots, having been gratuitously pre sented to them in the year 1831, by Samuel B. Ruggles, Esq., to whom this portion of the city is greatly indebted for its settlement and beauty. The ' trees and shrubbery were planted about twelve years since, under the di rection of Charles A. Davis, Esq., and their beauty and variety reflect much credit on his judgment and taste. An elegant fountain has just been completed at the cost of about, $3000. Though Gramercy Park is a priv- 2* 34 DESCRIPTION. Hamilton Square— Table of Public Grounds. ileged Square, strangers are always accommodated by application for ad mission to any of the proprietors. Hamilton Square, still further north, is not yet regulated, but is noted as the proposed location for the Washington Monument. These are perhaps all the public grounds that deserve distinct consider ation. The upper portion of the island is much better supplied with pub lic places for exercise and recreation , but as most of them are not laid out or regulated, we 6hall do no more than include them in the following : table of the abeas and locations of all the fabks ob public grounds of NEW-YOBK. Boundaries. Shape. Area. Name% -3 >- Battery PI., State & Whitehall sts. & harbor. Broad'y, Chambers, Centre and Chatham sts. Duane between Greenwich and Hudson sts. Duaue between Washington and West sts. . . Irregular. Ellipse...Irregular. Triangle. Oblong...Triangle*NTy. Sq.. Oblong. .. N'ly. Sq.. Ellipse...Two Ob's Oblong. .. Triangle.Oblong... 3b long. .. 2 Obl'gs... Dblong.... Oblong.... N'ly. Sq . 10 10 49 10 3 3 1 6 IS 24 10 2520 S33 253 0 66 26 193 183 246 112 253217 92 3647 136 193 182160 114 Bowling' Green, . .. 23 0221 323000 3 0 9 U 213f 21 13 39 1 342*3033 19 958 2 27 (1 ti Hudson Square, . . Washington Sq., . Tompkins Square, Waverley PI., Mc. Dougal, 4th & Wooster sts Stuyvesant Square, Gramercy Park, . . Abingdon Square, Madison Square, .. Bloomingdale Sq., Hamilton Square, Manhattan Square, Observatory Place, Mount Morris, .... Both sides of 2d Av. between 15th & 17th sts. 3d & 4th Avs. & 20th & 21st sts 5th Avenue, Madison Place, 23d & 26th sts. . . 8th & 9th Avenues, and 53d and 57th sts. . . . 3d & 5th Avenues, & 66tli & 69th sts 8th and 9th Avenues, & 77th & 81st sts Both Sides of 5th Av. bet. 120 & 124th sts. . . . The yards and cemeteries that surround several of the churches in the thickly settled portion of the city, may be mentioned as a partial compen sation for its deficiency in grounds appropriated to public use ; but, as they are only open on the Sabbath, they little more than serve the purpose of relieving the eye, by their occasional patches of verdure, from the mo notony of a crowded city. Those who wish to pursue the topography of the city further, or ascer tain particulars respecting its plan or extent, are referred to an accurate map in the first part of this volume. We will, however, present the fol lowing table of distances, compiled with great care from the Model of New York, a work which, considered merely as a plan of the city, is by far the largest and acknowledged to be the most accurate ever taken.* •The plan of tho city, on which tho Model of New York is constructed, is 20 by 24 feet ; and, with the surrounding railings, covers a space 23 by 27 feet. DESCRIPTION. 35 Table of Distances. TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM THE CITY HALL TO OTHER NOTED LOCALITIES OF NEW-YORK. (These distances are not right lines, but the spaces that must be passed over to reach the points designated. Fractions less than one-eighth of a mile are disregarded. The streets and numbers of any of the buildings or public places contained in the following enumeration, can be found by reference to the different parts of this work.) DlST. DlST. LOCALITIES. ¦a "3 §1 LOCALITIES. 11 a 2 3 K&t a. 328 Sfa p. PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND PLACES. PUBLIC GROUNDS. Merchants' Exchange 1 Battery if Custom House . t Bowling Green i Post Office . i Hudson Square i Halls of Justice . 1 Washington Square . . New-York Arsenal * Union Place .... n Columbia College i Tompkins Square . li New- York University li Gramercy Park . 2i Medical College of N. Y. Ur iversity li MAUKET8. College of Physicians and £ surgeons i Washington Market . . <- New-York Hospital . Fulton " * Bellevue Hospital 2i * Center " * City Dispensary . Catharine " . * Deaf and Dumb Asylum 31 li Institution for the Blind. 3i Tompkins " . H Union Theolosical Semina y • if a Prot. Epis. Theological Se minary 2j * 2f Iii i HOTELS. Society Library . f\ Apprentices' Library. i Sailors' Home New-Yoik Gas Works Lovejoy's. *' • - - i + Manhattan Gas Works * Castle Garden . * Clinton Hall i Gothic Hall Minerva Rooms . Trcmont Temperance House . City Hotel .... Judson's " i i Apollo Saloon . t . . 5} ii ColiseumNew-York Tattersalls Atlantic " . . . - United States Hotel * *¦ American Art Union . St. Charles' " * Distributing Reservoir i Receiving Reservoir . New-York " H Novelty Works . Commercial Exchange . * FEBBXES Fulton Ferry . ,* ' South Ferry , Catharine Ferry -J Navy Yard Ferry . . • . • ¦ J* Staten Island Ferry, foot of Whitehall St •¦ Do. do. do. foot of Battery Place jr Hoboken Ferry, foot of Barclay St J Do. do. foot of Canal St *t Do. do. foot of Christopher St 1| Jersey Cily Ferry, and Newark R. R. Depot J Williamsburg Ferry, foot of Peck slip * Do. do. foot of Grand St J* Do. do. foot of Houston St * 36 DESCRIPTION. Table of Distances— Croton Water Works. STEAMBOAT LANDINGS. Albany and Troy Steamboat Landing, foot of Barclay St. . Do. do. do. do. foot of Cortlanclt St. . Boston, via. Newport, Steamboat Landing, Pier No. 3, N. R. . . do. " Norwich, Providence or Stouington, foot of Battery Placo Philadelphia, foot of Liberty St. ". do. via. Camden and Amboy, Pier No. 2, N. R. New-Haven and Hartford Steamboat Landings, foot of Peck Slip CHT/BCHE8. Trinity Church, Broadway (Epis.) . . .... St. George's " Beekman, cor. Cliff St. (Epis.) . Grace " Broadway, cor. Tenth St. (Epis.) Calvary " 4th Avenue, between 21st and 22d Sts. (Epis.) Church ofthe Annunciation, 14th St. between 6th aDd 7th Avenues (Epis.) Church of our Saviour, foot of Pike St. (Epis. for seamen) . First Presbyterian Church, 5th avenue cor. 11th St. Central " " Broome near Elm St. Scotch " " Grand cor. Crosby St. Mercer street Presbyterian Church Tabernacle, Broadway, (Cong.) ... . Church ofthe Puritaus, Union Place, cor. 15th St. (Cong.) . North Dutch Church, William, cor. Fulton St. Dutch Reformed Church, Lafayette Place, cor. 4th St. " " . " Wooster St. cor. Washington Place First BaDtist Church, Broome, cor. Elizabeth South' *" " 84 Nassau St John Street Church (Moth.) North River Floatiuir Bethel, foot of Rector St. (Moth.) Mariners' Church, 73 Roosevelt St. Church ofthe Divine Unity, 548 Broadway (Unit.; " " Messiah, 728 Broadway (Unit.) Universalis! Church, Blecckcr, cor. of Downing St. St. Peter's Church, Barclay cor. Church St. (Rom. Cath.) St. Patrick's Cathedral, Mott, cor. Prince St. (Rom. Catn.) Jewish Synagogue, 119 Elm St. Having glanced at the external appearance of the city, let us descend beneath the surface, and see what underground New York presents. If the pavements of any of the principal streets be removed and an excava tion of a few feet made in the earth, two sets of iron pipes appear. Let the work of excavation be continued a few feet deeper, and a culvert of brick work is brought to view. The larger of these sets of pipes belongs to the Croton "Water Works. A copious supply of good water is the greatest blessing a city can pos sess. It is alike necessary to health, comfort, and protection against the devouring .element. This necessity early engaged the attention of the legislators of New York. In the year 1774, a project was set on foot to construct a city re servoir on the East side of Broadway, near its present intersection with Franklin Street, which was to be supplied with water forced up from a well by a steam engine. To meet the necessary expenditures, paper notes to the amount of £2,500 were issued. Several of these notes are still in existence. The following is a copy of one in the possession of Issachar J. Cozzens, Esq.. i mile * " i " i " i i H 2t2t 1 IJ % i * H i nn ii u i H DESCRIPTION. 37 Croton Water Works. (Front of the Note.) 5 KEW-TORK WATER "WORKS. 5i [No. 1257.] »j THIS NOTE shall entitle the Beabeb to tie Sum of 3j astsfjt SDflUnsis • Current Money of the Colony of New-York, payable on Demand, qS, " by the MAYOR, ALDERMEN, and COMMONALTY of the City « &j of New-York, at the Office of the Chamberlain of the said City of y ex this Date. Dated the Fifth Day of March, in the Year of our