HALF MOON SERIES 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 MAUD WILDER QOODWIN 
 ALICE CARRINQTON ROYCE 
 RUTH PUTNAM AND 
 EVA PALMER BROWNELL 
 
 Vol. II., No. 5. May, 1898. 
 
 Bowling (3vccn 
 
 3Bb 
 
 Spencer ^raeh 
 
 ^ 
 
 Copyright, 1898, by 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S 50NS 
 New York ^ London 
 
 Zbc "Rnfcftcrlwcfect press, New Rochelle, N. Y. 
 
 Entered at the Post Office, New Rochelle, N. Y., as Second-class Matter 
 
 Price Ten Cents 
 
 Per Year, One Dollar 
 
Class 
 
 J-l?.g 
 
 Book 
 
 JcS 
 
 CopyiightN"_ 
 
 . iy "[ 7 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSI-n 
 
^tUVLRU. 
 
 
 BOWLING GREEN 
 
 163 
 

Half Moon Series 
 
 Published in the Interest of the New York 
 City History Club. 
 
 Volume II. Number V. 
 
 BOWLING GREEN. 
 
 165 
 
 By spencer TRASK. 
 
 NEW YORK is cosmopolitan, essentially 
 so, beyond all large cities of the world. 
 Absorbed in the whirl and stir of the To-day, 
 occupied with vast schemes and enterprises 
 for the To-morrow, overswept by a constant 
 influx ofjiew life and new elements, it seems 
 to have no individual entity. It does not hold 
 fast its old traditions, its past associations. It 
 is hurried on, in the quickstep of its march of 
 improvement, far away from its starting-point; 
 and as it goes and grows with rapid progress 
 into something new and vast, it ruthlessly 
 obliterates its old landmarks and forgets its 
 early history. It is well, sometimes, to look 
 back and remember the beginning of things, 
 to quicken our civic pride by measuring our 
 growth, to recall the struggles and the con- 
 quests which proved the courage, patience, 
 and stamina of the people who made New 
 York what it is. 
 
 ilDarcb of 
 
 llmprovea 
 
 ment 
 
i66 
 
 iBowliuG 6reen 
 
 JBartec 
 
 witb 
 
 1In^ians 
 
 There is no piece of land on Manhattan Is- 
 land which has retained for a longer period its 
 distinctive name, and at the same time fulfilled 
 more thoroughly the purposes of its creation, 
 than the small park at the extreme southern 
 end of Broadway, known as Bowling Green. 
 It is the one historic spot which has never 
 lost its identity or been diverted from public 
 use since the foundation of the city. 
 
 The history of the city from the time when 
 the good ship Sea Mew sailed into the bay, 
 May 6, 1626, bearing the doughty Dutch Gov- 
 ernor, Peter Minuet, — with no city and no peo- 
 ple as yet to govern, — to the present, might 
 almost be written from what has been seen 
 and heard from this small plot of land. 
 
 The West India Company was chartered by 
 the States-General of Holland in 1 62 1 . In 1 625, 
 enough capital had been raised, and colonists 
 obtained, to warrant the Company in begin- 
 ning to avail itself of the almost unlimited 
 privileges granted, of exclusive trade along 
 the whole Atlantic coast, and of almost sov- 
 ereign power. The first act of the honest 
 Dutchman on that May morn was to call to- 
 gether the Manhattan tribe of Indians, proba- 
 bly on the very site of the future Green. There 
 he traded for the whole island, named after the 
 tribe, estimated at that time to contain about 
 '* 1 1,000 Dutch morgens," ' or 22,000 acres, a 
 quantity of beads, trinkets, etc., valued at sixty 
 
JSowUng (Breen 
 
 167 
 
 guilders, or about twenty-four dollars, a sum 
 far less than that now paid for a single square 
 foot of any portion of that land which then 
 came within his vision. From this sharp bar- 
 gain was to grow the city that was destined 
 to be the commercial metropolis of the new 
 continent, and the second largest city of the 
 world. 
 
 In order to insure peaceable possession, a 
 fort was built, seemingly under the direction 
 of one Kryn Frederycke, and in 1635, a larger 
 one was erected at the contract price of 
 $1633. It was 300 feet long, and 250 wide. 
 This enclosed the Governor's house, barracks, 
 and, later, the church. The contract for the 
 building of the church required it to be of 
 '* Rock Stone," 72 feet long, 52 feet broad, 
 and 16 feet high. The price was $1000. This 
 fort occupied the space between the present 
 streets called Whitehall, Bridge, State, and 
 Bowling Green. The sally-port was at the 
 north. 
 
 The large open space opposite the sally-port 
 was set apart and known at first as **The 
 Plaine," afterwards to become the Bowling 
 Green. It held a place of great importance in 
 the annals of the city in times of peace and times 
 of war. This was the village green, which 
 marked the growing social life of the people. 
 Here the children played, looking far off into the 
 watery distance as they remembered stories of 
 
 Ube 3f ort 
 
i68 
 
 Bovvlina Oreen 
 
 Ibow tbe 
 
 ©reen was 
 
 'CISC& 
 
 their grandfathers' and fathers' homes beyond 
 the sea ; here the youths and maidens danced 
 on holidays and crowned their loveliest on the 
 first of May, wreathing their May-poles with 
 the early green. It was also the parade-ground 
 for the soldiers. On Sundays, we can see it 
 crowded with the country wagons of all de- 
 scriptions, of those who came to worship at the 
 church ''within the Fort," the horses being 
 turned loose to graze on the hillside running 
 down to the water on the site of the present 
 Battery. Here, also, was the well, built for the 
 use both of the garrison and of the general pub- 
 lic. Tradition has affirmed that the site of this 
 well was originally a spring, the surplus waters 
 of which ran in a little brook down the present 
 line of Beaver Street, and contributed to form 
 the marsh in the present Broad Street, then 
 called *' Blommaert's" Valley. 
 
 Here Governor Van Twiller proved his valor 
 and his contempt for the English. An English 
 trading vessel came into the bay to trade with 
 Indians up the river. One of the sailors de- 
 poses that 
 
 "The Dutch here inhabitinge send and com- 
 mand all our Companye (excepte one boye) 
 to come to their forte, where they staide about 
 twoe houres and the Governor commande his 
 gunner to make ready three peeces of ordnance 
 and shott them off for the Prince of Orange, 
 and sprede the Prince's Coloures. Where- 
 
iSowliUG Gvccn 
 
 169 
 
 upon Jacob Elekins, the merchant's factor of 
 the Shippe, the IVilliam, commande William 
 Fforde of Lymehouse (the gunner) to go abord 
 the Shippe and sprede her coloures and shoote 
 off three peeces of ordnance for the Kinge of 
 England."^ 
 
 Then Jacob Elekins coolly sailed up the river 
 in defiance of the guns of the fort, leaving the 
 astonished Governor to meditate on his auda- 
 city. Thunderstruck at such an act of temer- 
 ity, Van Twiller summoned all the people to 
 "The Plaine," then ordering a cask of wine 
 and another of beer to be rolled out, he filled 
 a glass and called on all good citizens to drink 
 a health to the Prince of Orange and confusion 
 to the English. 
 
 Here, after two years of a bloody and sav- 
 age war with the surrounding Indians, during 
 which the island was almost depopulated, the 
 farms destroyed, and many adjacent settle- 
 ments obliterated, the sachems of all the hos- 
 tile tribes assembled August 30, 1645, smoked 
 the calumet of peace, and buried the toma- 
 hawk, pledging eternal friendship with the 
 whites." 
 
 In 1 64 1, Governor Kieft established two an- 
 nual fairs for the encouragement of agricul- 
 ture, the first for cattle, to begin October 15, 
 and the second for hogs, to begin November i. 
 These were ordered to be held ''att the mar- 
 kett house and plaine afore the forte." This 
 
 Ureatg 
 witb tbe 
 llnliians 
 
lyo BowliUG Green 
 
 Bnnuai ^^^^ ^^s the great annual event of the city, 
 jfairs forerunner of the Horse Fair and Dog Show. 
 We can picture the sturdy burghers and their 
 fair vrouws, in all the glory of starched ruffs 
 and variegated quilted petticoats, discussing 
 the respective merits of their Holsteins and 
 hogs. One inducement held out to attract 
 strangers was that no one should be liable for 
 arrest for debt during the continuance of the 
 fair. This must have materially added to the 
 number of visitors. 
 
 The peace and quiet of the worthy burgh- 
 ers, as indicated by these fairs and social gath- 
 erings, were rudely shaken when, early in 
 1653, ^ ^^^ having broken out between Eng- 
 land and Holland, an invasion from New 
 England was threatened. At a General Ses- 
 sion of the Councillors held March 13, 1653/ 
 it was resolved, 
 
 '' ist. That the whole body of citizens shall 
 keep watch by night in such places as shall 
 be designated, the City Tavern to be the tem- 
 porary headquarters." 
 
 " 2nd. That the fort be repaired." 
 
 "3rd. Because the fort is not large enough 
 to contain all the inhabitants, it is deemed 
 necessary to enclose the city with palisades 
 and breastworks." 
 
 "4th. Some way must be devised to raise 
 money." 
 
 " 5th. Captain Vischer is to be requested to 
 
JBovvling Oreen 
 
 171 
 
 fix his sails, to have his piece loaded, and to 
 keep his vessel in readiness." 
 
 (Whether for fight or flight is not said.) 
 
 Evidently not much reliance could have 
 been placed upon the palisades, for on July 
 28, the Governor sends a missive to the City 
 Magistrates, stating that the palisades are 
 completed, and requesting them "to keep 
 the hogs away from the repaired ramparts of 
 the Fort." ' Some years later we find the fol- 
 lowing entry : 
 
 ''Whereas, the fortifications of this city 
 have at great and excessive expense, trouble 
 and labor of the Burghery and inhabitants, 
 been mostly completed, and it is therefore 
 necessary for the preservation of the same 
 and better security of this city some orders be 
 made, therefore 
 
 'Mttem. It is strictly forbidden and pro- 
 hibited, that any person, be he who he may, 
 presume to land within this City, or quit the 
 same in any other manner, way or means, 
 than thro the ordinary City Gate, on paine of 
 Death. And finally, as it is found that the 
 hogs which are kept within this city in multi- 
 tudes along the public streets, have from time 
 to time committed great damage on the east- 
 ern fortifications, and that the same are most 
 certainly to be expected in like manner here 
 on the erected works, every one who keeps 
 hogs within this city is there ordered and 
 
 Ube 
 
 dfortiflcas 
 
 ttons 
 
172 
 
 JSowling (Breen 
 
 Dcstrucs 
 
 tion of tbe 
 
 Swc&isb 
 
 3fort 
 
 charged to take care that their hogs shall not 
 come to, in or on the Bulwarks, Bastions, 
 Gardens or Batteries, under forfeiture of said 
 hogs, and double the value thereof, to be ap- 
 plied the one half for the informer, the other 
 half for the informer who shall put this in exe- 
 cution. Every one is hereby warned and put 
 on his guard against injury." 
 
 *'By order of the Heer Govnr. Gen. of N. 
 Netherlands. 
 
 N. Bayard, Sec'y." 
 
 Fortunately no more serious assaults than 
 these from the hogs and from the horns of the 
 cattle were made against the palisades, for 
 peace was shortly after declared between 
 England and Holland, and their colonies had 
 to restrain their martial ardor. 
 
 The following year but one was again full 
 of fears; for in February, 1655, ^ council of 
 war was held to consider a threatened attack 
 of the Swedes on the South (Delaware) River. 
 It was then "Deemed necessary that the for- 
 tifications be repaired " — the cattle probably in 
 the meantime having become obstreperous 
 and displayed their ferocity against the stock- 
 ade — "by spiking with good spikes, a blind 
 of planks five or six feet in height against the 
 palisades." 
 
 Again was all this precaution useless, for, 
 the Swedes not coming, Governor Stuyvesant 
 decided to go to them ; and the council of 
 
Bowling Green 
 
 173 
 
 war, at a special meeting, having applied for 
 and obtained "two drummers to improve the 
 marching of the militia," the valiant army set 
 forth, and returned triumphant, having de- 
 stroyed the Swedish fort. Later in this year 
 a foray of Indians was made in the surround- 
 ing country, and the vigilant magistrates, on 
 September 20, resolved "to raise up the pal- 
 isades to the height of at least 10 or 12 feet, 
 to prevent the overloopen [jumping over] of 
 the savages." 
 
 The palisades, or stockade, extended along 
 the East River, from near the present head of 
 Coenties Slip, on the line of Pearl Street, 
 crossing the fields to the North River, on the 
 present north side of Wall Street (whence its 
 name), and then along the North River to the 
 fort, just east of Greenwich Street, which was 
 then under water. The map of the city in 
 1695 shows the line of the palisades. In 
 digging the foundation of the new Bowlmg 
 Green Offices, 5-1 1 Broadway, a large num- 
 ber of these old posts were found many feet 
 under the surface. Although nearly two hun- 
 dred and fifty years old, the portions found were 
 in a wonderful state of preservation. Canes and 
 other mementos have been made from these. 
 
 War's rude alarms for a while having ceased, 
 the citizens turned their attention to the im- 
 proving of the city. First, a census was taken, 
 which showed 120 houses and 1000 inhabit- 
 
 Ube ipalis 
 
 eades 
 
174 
 
 Bovvling Green 
 
 Cits -ffma 
 
 proves 
 ments 
 
 ants. The average price of the best city lots 
 was then fifty dollars, while the rent of an av- 
 erage good house was fourteen dollars per an- 
 num. 
 
 The ditch, which heretofore had run through 
 the centre of Broad Street, was sided up with 
 boards. Several of the streets were ordered 
 paved with stone, whence Stone Street re- 
 ceived its name, being one of the first paved 
 streets in the city. 
 
 In 1659, an ordinance was passed establish- 
 ing a public market on the present Bowling 
 Green." 
 
 *'lt is found good and resolved, that for all 
 fat cattle brought to the market (not slaugh- 
 tered) posts shall be erected by the side of the 
 church where those who bring such cattle to 
 market for sale shall present them. 
 
 " It is also resolved, that shambles be built, 
 a cover be made, and a block brought in, and 
 that the key be given to Andries, the baker, 
 who shall keep oversight of the same." 
 
 It was at this time made the duty of the 
 Sheriff to go around the city at night. He evi- 
 dently must have considered this as detracting 
 from his dignity, for he officially complains, 
 "That the dogs attack him; that the people 
 cause frights by halloing * Indian ' in the night, 
 and that the boys cut ' koeckies.' " 
 
 For some time the English colonists occu- 
 pying the country to the north and the south 
 
JBowUnG (3reen 
 
 175 
 
 of New Netherland had been restive, and the 
 home government was more than willing to 
 back up their claims that no rival power 
 should separate their possessions, claiming 
 that the Dutch occupation was usurpation 
 of the English rights. Charles the Second, 
 with kingly liberality, granted a patent under 
 date of March 12, 1664, to his brother James, 
 Duke of York, bestowing upon him the whole 
 of New Netherland, and that part of Con- 
 necticut lying west of the Connecticut River. 
 That he had no right or title in this property 
 disturbed him little, he believing, with other 
 monarchs of that time, that might made right. 
 The King had previously granted to the Earl 
 of Sterling the whole of Long Island; in order 
 to consolidate his possessions, James bought 
 this of him for three hundred pounds, and 
 then arranged to send an expedition to take 
 formal possession of ail his new territory. 
 The utter uselessness of resistance, notwith- 
 standing the amount of work and time that 
 had been spent upon the fort and palisades, 
 was apparent to the Governor's Council and 
 the Burgomasters, even if not to the Governor 
 himself. In vain Peter Stuyvesant stormed 
 around on his wooden leg, endeavoring to 
 infuse his own courage into the others. He 
 finally, however, was compelled to yield to 
 necessity, and on August 26, 1664, the capit- 
 ulation was formally agreed upon, New Am- 
 
 "Cbc Cas 
 
 pitulation 
 
 of mew 
 
 Hmsters 
 
 dam 
 
176 
 
 Uerms of 
 Surren&er 
 
 ^SowliuG Oreen 
 
 sterdam thenceforth becoming (except for a 
 short period when, in 1673, the Dutch retook 
 the city and held it for about a year) known 
 as New York. The terms of surrender were 
 most favorable, it being agreed that the West 
 Indies Company should enjoy all their ''fast 
 property " except forts, etc. ; the then magis- 
 trates were continued in office until future 
 election by the people ; the Dutch inhabitants 
 were confirmed in their property and liberties. 
 There seems little question but that the people 
 generally felt that the change of government 
 would be for their ultimate good. At any 
 rate, they accepted the situation gracefully, 
 for a few months after the capitulation the 
 magistrates (being the same who had been in 
 office at the time of the surrender) sent the 
 following petition : ' 
 
 *'To His Royal Highness The Duke of York, 
 by the Grace of God, our most Gracious Lord, 
 Greeting." 
 
 "\t hath pleased God to bring us under 
 your R. H's obediance, wherein we promise 
 to conduct ourselves as good subjects are 
 bound to do, deeming ourselves fortunate 
 that His Highness hath provided us with so 
 gentle, wise, and intelligent a gentleman for 
 Governor as the Hon. Col. Richard Nichols, 
 confident and assured that under the wings 
 of this valiant gentleman we shall bloom and 
 grow like the Cedar of Lebanon." 
 
:©owlmo (3reeu 
 
 177 
 
 Assuming that this gracious acceptance of 
 the inevitable, in all the rhetorical splendor of its 
 mixed metaphor, must soften his heart, they at 
 once proceed to request further rights and privi- 
 leges, and pray to be relieved from certain on- 
 erous imposts and burdens for five or six years. 
 
 *' Doubting not but His Royal Highness 
 will at the close of these years learn with 
 hearty delight the advancement of this Prov- 
 ince, even to a place from which your Royal 
 Highness shall come to derive great revenue, 
 being then peopled with thousands of fami- 
 lies, and having great trade by sea from New 
 England and other places out of Europe, Af- 
 rica or America."' 
 
 Certainly these Burgomasters, with their 
 prophetic souls, could not be accused of any 
 old-fashioned ideas as to loyalty and allegiance 
 to their past, for in the very next year, in the 
 record of the ** proceedings of the Burgomas- 
 ters and Schepens," under date of June 24, 
 1665, it is recorded: ''This day, after the 
 usual ringing of the city-hall bell three times, 
 is published a certain proclamation regarding 
 the confiscation of the West India Go's ef- 
 fects, in consequence of the Company inflict- 
 ing all sorts of injury on His Royal Majesty's 
 subjects." Thus passed away the last rights 
 of the West India Company. 
 
 In 1672, war having been declared by Eng- 
 land against Holland, a Dutch fieet appeared 
 
 IRecapture 
 
 of tbe Ctts 
 
 b^ tbe 
 
 ©utcb 
 
178 
 
 Bowling (Breen 
 
 Jftrst 
 Cbartcr 
 ant) Seal 
 
 in the harbor of New York, and recaptured 
 the city on August 9, 1673. The name was 
 then changed to New Orange. Only for a 
 short period, however, v/ere the Dutch al- 
 lowed to retain possession, for the next year 
 a treaty of peace was signed between the par- 
 ent countries, by the terms of which Surinam 
 was given to the Dutch as an equivalent for 
 New York !! The city was restored to the 
 English, November 10, 1674, and the name 
 changed back to New York. Under the sway 
 of the English, increased prosperity came to 
 the city. Among the privileges granted was 
 a monopoly in the bolting of flour and in the 
 exportation of sea-biscuit and flour. The im- 
 portance of this monopoly, which lasted un- 
 til 1694, can hardly be over-estimated, since 
 it gave New York a commercial importance 
 which it has never since lost. In 1686, under 
 Governor Dongan, a charter was granted to 
 the city, which still forms the basis of its mu- 
 nicipal rights and privileges. At the same 
 time a new seal was given which, with the 
 substitution of an eagle for a crown and a 
 sailor for one of the Indians, is virtually the 
 present seal of the city. This seal retained 
 the beaver from the old seal of 1623, emblem- 
 atic of the city's commercial beginning, and 
 added to it the flour-barrel and the arms of a 
 wind-mill, as tokens of the prosperity which 
 had come to it from the Bolting Act. 
 
Bowlina Green 
 
 179 
 
 Interesting as it would be to follow the his- 
 tory of the city and its gradual progress to- 
 wards its present condition, space compels us 
 to confine ourselves more especially to those 
 events and changes which show the evolu- 
 tion of the Bowling Green and its immediate 
 neighborhood. The lower part of Broadway, 
 facing Bowling Green, in common with that 
 upon the east-side, was simply designated as 
 "The Market-field." Afterwards, it received 
 the name of the " Heere Straat," or principal 
 street, and later the name "Broad Way." 
 Grants of lots were first made, and deeds 
 given, in 1642. Until then settlers had been 
 allowed to occupy land as they saw fit, and 
 lines and boundaries were established by 
 chance, or according to each one's own sweet 
 will. 
 
 In 1643, the first lot granted on "De Heere 
 Straat " was deeded to Martin Cregier. It was 
 thus described (translated from the Dutch) : * 
 
 " Grant to Marten Cregier, 1643. ^ot for a 
 house and garden lying north of the Fort, ex- 
 tending from the house, about west, nine rods 
 two feet ; towards the fort, south, six rods 
 nine feet. Again about east, with a great 
 out-point, fourteen rods six feet ; further, to 
 the place of beginning, four rods five feet. 
 Amounting, in an uneven, four-sided figure, 
 to eighty-six rods three feet." This lot is 
 now known as numbers 9 and 1 1 Broadway, 
 
 ffiret 
 (Brants 
 of Hots 
 
i8o 
 
 Bowling Gveen 
 
 mvBt Hts 
 
 tempts to 
 ^ir Xines 
 
 aSoun&s 
 aries 
 
 being part of the land upon which the Bowl- 
 ing Green Offices are built. 
 
 The city fathers, in their later attempt to lay 
 out the city, and to fix lines and boundaries, in 
 April, 1744, "Ordered: That the owners of the 
 houses between Mr. Chambers and Mr. De- 
 peysters corner house, by the Bowling Green, 
 have liberty to range their fronts in such 
 manner as the Alderman and Assistant of the 
 West Ward may think proper." " And again, 
 in May of the next year, they 
 
 "Ordered: That a straight line be drawn 
 from the south corner of the house of Mr. 
 Augustus Jay, now in the occupation of Peter 
 Warren, Esquire, to the north Corner of the 
 house of Archibald Kennedy, fronting the 
 Bowling Green in the Broad Way, and that 
 Mr. William Smith, who is now about to 
 build a house (and all other persons who 
 shall build between the two houses) lay their 
 foundations and build conformably to the 
 aforesaid straight line." 
 
 The liberty given to the owners of the 
 houses by the ordinance of 1744, "to range 
 their fronts " as might be thought proper, was 
 so thoroughly availed of that even until the 
 present time, one hundred and fifty years af- 
 ter, no attention has been paid to the later 
 order of 1745, for the buildings pulled down 
 in 1895, to make room for the new Bowling 
 Green Offices, were very far from being on 
 
JSowling Green 
 
 ibi 
 
 a line, and the few buildings still remaining to 
 the north, towards Morris Street, do not even 
 yet front on a straight line. A view taken in 
 1835, shows the projecting edges of the houses. 
 A map of the city in 1695, shows that the 
 waters of the North River came beyond the 
 present eastern side of Greenwich Street. A 
 later map shows how the city has been gradu- 
 ally extended, the dotted lines marking the 
 water-line at various periods. 
 
 In 1723, the city offered for sale the lands 
 between high and low- water mark, "from 
 the house of Mr. Gaasbeck near the fort to the 
 green trees, commonly called the locust trees, 
 near the English Church," '" or from the pres- 
 ent Battery to Rector Street. In 1729, it was 
 ordered: "For the better utility of trade and 
 commerce, and increasing the buildings within 
 the city, and improving the revenue of the 
 corporation," that two streets should be sur- 
 veyed and laid out along the Hudson River, 
 one street of forty feet in width at high-water 
 mark, and the other of thirty feet in width at 
 low-water mark; the high-water mark to be 
 the centre of one street, and the low-water 
 mark to be the centre of the other." These 
 streets are the present Greenwich and Wash- 
 ington Streets, the former deriving its name 
 from its being an extension of a lane which 
 led to Greenwich Village. Notwithstanding 
 the "order," it was some years before any- 
 
 Decrees 
 
l82 
 
 Bowling Green 
 
 Xeasfn^ 
 ot Sowls 
 ing Ovcen 
 
 thing was done towards filling in the land and 
 opening these streets, for on a map as late as 
 1755, these streets are not shown as existing 
 at their southern end. 
 
 In March, 1732, the then city fathers" 
 ''Resolved, that this Corporation will lease 
 a piece of land lying at the lower end of Broad- 
 way, fronting to the Fort, to some of the in- 
 habitants of the said Broadway, in order to 
 be inclosed to make a Bowling-Green thereof, 
 with walks therein, for the beauty and orna- 
 ment of said street, as well as for the recrea- 
 tion and delight of the inhabitants of the city, 
 leaving the Street on each side thereof 50 ft. in 
 breadth." 
 
 Three public-spirited and sport-loving citi- 
 zens, John Chambers, Peter Bayard, and Peter 
 Jay, — may their names be placed upon the 
 roll of the worthy, — hired, in accordance with 
 this resolution, this ground, theretofore called 
 ''The Plaine," and later, "The Parade," for a 
 term of eleven years, at the enormous rent of 
 one peppercorn per annum, and prepared it 
 for the sport of bowls. Let us hope they did 
 not charge too much per game to recoup them- 
 selves. As this lease neared its termination, 
 it was ordered that it be renewed for eleven 
 years, on payment of twenty shillings per an- 
 num, the lessees being John Chambers, Colo- 
 nel Phillipse, and John Roosevelt. We are not 
 told what happened at the expiration of this 
 
JSowliuo (3reen 
 
 183 
 
 lease, whether they demanded a reduction of 
 rent, and failing to obtain it abandoned the 
 Green, or whether other sports became the fad 
 of the ultra-fashionables, whose houses then 
 surrounded the Green. 
 
 In a map of 1763, we find Greenwich Street 
 has been opened, the Bowling Green being 
 then laid down in the shape of a triangle. 
 The land beside the Fort, on the east and 
 west side, was anciently called '*T' Marck- 
 velt," or " The Market-field," from its vicinity 
 to the markets then held on the ''Plaine," or 
 Bowling Green. The portion on the east is 
 now Whitehall Street. The name *' Market- 
 field," however, remains in connection with 
 the small street originally running from White- 
 hall to Broad, formerly called ''Petticoat Lane," 
 a part of which has since been obliterated to 
 make room for the present Produce Exchange. 
 The name ''Whitehall" originated in a large 
 storehouse on the corner of Whitehall and 
 State Streets, built by Peter Stuyvesant, after- 
 wards falling into the hands of Governor Don- 
 gan, who named it the "White Hall." This 
 subsequently, for a little while, became the 
 custom-house of the city, which later was 
 moved to number i Broadway.'' 
 
 This plot of land, i Broadway, had origi- 
 nally been owned by a widow, Annetje 
 Kocks. In 1760, Captain Kennedy, afterwards 
 Earl of Cassilis, built on this corner a mansion. 
 
 [petticoat 
 !iLane 
 
1 84 
 
 Bowlina 6reen 
 
 Ube 
 
 (ngton 
 
 which was destined to be famous for many 
 years. The garden in its rear extended to the 
 Hudson River. Captain Kennedy, returning to 
 England prior to the Revolution, left the prop- 
 erty to his son Robert, from whom it passed 
 to the late Nathaniel Prime, a leading banker 
 of the city. In the spring of 1776, General 
 Lee, and afterward General Putnam, occu- 
 pied this house as their headquarters, and, for 
 a time, Washington.'' During the occupancy 
 of the city by the English, Sir Guy Carleton 
 and other British officers lived here. Mr. 
 Isaac Sears, one of the prominent ** Liberty 
 Boys," lived in it subsequent to the Revolu- 
 tion. He was commonly called *'King Sears," 
 and his daughters ''The Princesses." After- 
 ward, it v/as taken by Mrs. Graham for a 
 girls' school, and later was known as the best 
 boarding-house in the city. For many years 
 it was called the Washington Inn. In 1882, 
 it was torn down, and the present struc- 
 ture known as the Washington Building 
 was erected by Cyrus Field, to whose per- 
 severance and skill was due the laying of 
 the first Atlantic cable. After the land at 
 the rear of these houses was extended, a house 
 was built in what had been the garden 
 of the Kennedy house, in which Robert 
 Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat, lived 
 and died. At number 3 Broadway, John 
 Watts, one of the Governor's Council, lived; 
 
.IBowliuo (Brecu 
 
 185 
 
 his daughter was the wife of Archibald 
 Kennedy.'* 
 
 Next to this was the property of Martin 
 Cregier, already referred to. This same Mar- 
 tin Cregier was a notable citizen. He was by 
 turns an Indian trader, sloop owner, and mas- 
 ter. In 1648, he was appointed one of the 
 first four Fire Wardens. He commanded an 
 expedition against the Swedes on the Dela- 
 ware River, and, in 1663, against the Esopus 
 Indians." He was Captain of the *'Burgh- 
 ery," or citizens' company, in all of which oc- 
 cupations he must have been successful, for, 
 in 1659, we find he built upon his lot a tav- 
 ern, which soon became a place of fashionable 
 resort, the Delmonico or Waldorf-Astoria of 
 the time. Fortune favored him, as before, for, 
 in 1673, during the temporary recapture of the 
 city by the Dutch, at a meeting of the " Val- 
 iant Council of War," an order was passed 
 calling for the nomination of six persons as 
 Burgomasters. ''To wit : from the Wealthi- 
 est Inhabitants and those only who are of the 
 Reformed Christian Religion." Cregier, fulfill- 
 ing all these requirements, was duly elected, 
 further proving that tavern-keeping was 
 equally prosperous then as now, and not in- 
 consistent with religious profession. In 1654, 
 we find that a new seal having been granted 
 to the city, it was publicly delivered Decem- 
 ber 8, by the Director to Martin Cregier, pre- 
 
 /IDartin 
 
 Cvegier 
 
i86 
 
 i^ovvltna (Breen 
 
 3Burn6' 
 Coffee 
 Ibouse 
 
 siding Burgomaster. (The salary of Burgo- 
 master was three hundred and fifty guilders 
 — when it was paid!) '' In 1674, we find him 
 superintending the fortifications, in anticipa- 
 tion of the coming of the English force. 
 Whether his Dutch blood resented the final 
 capture of the city by the English, or whether 
 new and more modern taverns eclipsed his 
 own and took his custom, we are not told; 
 but we find that later he abandoned New 
 York, and with his family moved to the banks 
 of the Mohawk, then on the very frontiers, 
 where he died, in 17 13, nearly a century old. 
 
 As Cregier's Tavern became old and behind 
 the times, a new building was erected, which 
 afterward bore the name of ''King's Arms 
 Tavern," and at the time of the Revolution 
 was tamiliarly called ''Burns' Coffee House." 
 It was among the few buildings that escaped 
 the fires of 1776 and 1845. As late as i860, the 
 same building was still standing, bearing the 
 title of "The Atlantic Garden." This is re- 
 markable as being only the second structure 
 to occupy the site since the foundation of the 
 city. Almost until the present time the gar- 
 den connected with this property has fur- 
 nished a place for popular amusement. In 
 Parker's Post Boy of May 27, 1762, appears 
 the following notice : 
 
 "This is to give Notice, to all Gentlemen 
 and Ladies, Lovers and Encouragers of Mu- 
 
Bovvlina Ovccn 187 
 
 sick. That this day will be opened, by Messrs. Kums' 
 Leonard & Dienval, Musick Masters, of this ^^^^ 
 city, at Mr. Burnes' Room, near the Battery, 
 a public and weekly Concert of Musick. Tick- 
 ets, four shillings." 
 
 *'N. B. The concert is to begin exactly at 
 8 o'clock, and end at ten, on account of the 
 coolness of the evening. No Body will be 
 admitted without tickets, nor no money will 
 be taken at the door." 
 
 In the next year, 1763, a Mrs. Steel, who 
 had kept the King's Arms Tavern in Broad 
 Street (the most noted tavern in the city for 
 thirty years), removed to this house, carrying 
 with her the name of her old place. The an- 
 nouncement is thus made in the Post ^Boy : 
 "Mrs. Steel, Takes this method to acquaint 
 her Friends and Customers, That the King's 
 Arms Tavern, which she formerly kept oppo- 
 site the Exchange, she hath now removed 
 into Broadway (the lower end opposite the 
 Fort), a more commodious house, where she 
 will not only have it in her power to accom- 
 modate gentlemen with conveniences requi- 
 site as a tavern, but also, with genteel lodging 
 apartments, which she doubts not will give 
 satisfaction to every one who will be pleased 
 to give her that honour." 
 
 Mrs. Steel's move must have been an unfor- 
 tunate one, for, in 1765, we fmd Burns again in 
 control (perhaps he married the widow), and 
 
1 88 BowltuG Green 
 
 ubc from then on the place seems to have been 
 stamp known as '' Burns' Coffee House." 
 
 Set 
 
 On October 31, 1765, a meeting of the mer- 
 chants of the city was called at Burns' Coffee 
 House, in order to express their opposition to 
 the Stamp Act. Here they passed and signed 
 the first non-importation agreement of the col- 
 onies. Over two hundred merchants signed 
 the resolutions, thus securing for New York 
 the credit of being the first to sacrifice its 
 commercial interests to the cause of liberty. 
 At this meeting a non-importation association 
 was also organized, and a committee ap- 
 pointed to correspond with the other colo- 
 nies, with a view to the universal adoption 
 of similar measures. In the morning of the 
 next day, November i, when the Stamp Act 
 was to go into effect, handbills mysteriously 
 appeared throughout the city, forbidding any 
 one, at his peril, to use the stamped paper. 
 
 In the evening two companies, largely com- 
 posed of the Sons of Liberty, whose headquar- 
 ters were at Burns' Coffee House, appeared in 
 the streets. The first company proceeded to 
 the ''fields," or common (City Hall Park), 
 where they erected a gallows and suspended 
 thereon an effigy of Lieutenant-Governor Col- 
 den, with the stamped paper in his hand, a 
 drum at his back, and by his side they hung 
 an effigy of the devil with a boot in his hand. 
 The other company, with another effigy of 
 
ifSowltn^ Green 
 
 Golden seated in a chair, broke open his 
 stable, and taking out his chariot placed the 
 effigy in it, and then, joining the other com- 
 pany, both proceeded to the fort, strictest 
 orders having been given that not a word 
 should be spoken or a stone thrown. On ar- 
 riving at the Bowling Green, they found the 
 soldiers drawn up on the ramparts of the 
 fort, and the muzzles of the cannon pointed 
 toward them. General Gage, who was then 
 the British commander, prudently refrained 
 from firing upon the mob, knowing well that 
 the first volley would be followed by the 
 instant destruction of the Fort. The people 
 having been refused admission to the Fort, 
 tore down the wooden fence about the Bowl- 
 ing Green, kindled a fire there, and burned 
 the carriage, gallows, effigies, and all. 
 
 The odious Stamp Act was finally repealed 
 on February 20, 1766. This action of the 
 ministry was received with the wildest en- 
 thusiasm. The whole city was illuminated, 
 special bonfires being kindled on the Bowling 
 Green. For a time this action of the home 
 government aroused the enthusiasm of the 
 populace, and on June 23, another meeting 
 was held at Burns' Coffee House, petitioning 
 the Assembly to erect a statue in honor of 
 William Pitt, and also an equestrian statue of 
 George the Third. On August 21, 1770, the 
 statue of George the Third having arrived 
 
 statue of 
 
 (George tbe 
 
 Ubirb 
 
IQO 
 
 :BowlinG (3reen 
 
 Destrucs 
 
 tfon of tbe 
 
 Statue 
 
 from England, it was placed in the centre of 
 Bowling Green amid the general acclamation 
 of the people. In November, it was ordered 
 "That a temporary fence be forthwith made 
 around the Bowling Green, of posts and rails 
 not to exceed five rails high." The following 
 year, 1771, it was ordered: ''Whereas the 
 General Assembly of this Province have been 
 at the great expense of sending for an eques- 
 trian statue of his present majesty [George 
 III.], and erected the same on the Bowling 
 Green, before his majesty's fort in this city, 
 and this Board, conceiving, that unless the 
 said Green be fenced in, the same will very 
 soon became a receptacle for all the filth and 
 dirt of the neighborhood, in order to prevent 
 which, it is ordered that the same be fenced 
 with iron rails, in a stone foundation, at an 
 expense of ^800." This fence and the orig- 
 inal stones still surround the Green, the crowns 
 which originally ornamented the tops of the 
 pillars having been broken off. 
 
 At the breaking out of the Revolution, to 
 celebrate the news of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, this statue was dragged from its 
 pedestal, and drawn through the streets. It 
 was then sent to Litchfield, the residence of 
 Oliver Wolcott, Governor of Connecticut, by 
 whose wife and daughter it was run into 
 42,000 bullets, *'to assimilate with the brains 
 of the adversary." Subsequently, during the 
 
JBovvltna 6reen 
 
 191 
 
 invasion of Connecticut by Governor Tryon, 
 over four hundred British soldiers were killed, 
 probably by this very lead. The pedestal of 
 the statue remained standing for some time 
 longer, as is shown in a contemporaneous 
 print of the Bowling Green at the time of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 On August 26, 1776, the city was captured 
 by the English. Shortly after the occupancy 
 of the British a great fire occurred, destroying 
 four hundred and ninety-two houses, nearly 
 one eighth of the entire city. The houses 
 at the lower end of Broadway, facing Bowling 
 Green on the west side, were saved. 
 
 The Green again welcomed the joyous and 
 exultant crowds who there gathered to see the 
 final evacuation of the city by the British on 
 November 25, 1783. Before leaving, the 
 English had nailed their defeated colors to the 
 flag-pole which stood near, and in the hope of 
 preventing the immediate raising of the stars 
 and stripes, had thoroughly greased the pole. 
 Captain John Van Arsdale, however, quickly 
 managed to climb the pole, and in sight of the 
 departing troops flung our flag to the breeze. 
 Ever since then it has been the custom for one 
 of his descendants, on the morning of Evacua- 
 tion Day, to raise the flag on the present lib- 
 erty pole in the park. 
 
 . A map of Brooklyn, drawn by General 
 Jeremiah Johnson about this time, is curious, 
 
 Evacuas 
 tion of tbc 
 
 tbe 3Brits 
 isb 
 
192 
 
 JBowliUG Ovccn 
 
 ^Bowling 
 ©reen 
 
 !ltease& to 
 Cbans 
 cellor 
 
 Uivtngston 
 
 as indicating a fact whicli probably is unknown 
 to most New Yorkers: that Governor's Island 
 was at one time used as a race-track. 
 
 On the adoption of the new constitution by 
 the State of New York, the event was cele- 
 brated by a ''wonderful" procession, which 
 was reviewed by Washington and other nota- 
 bles, from the ramparts of the Fort, as it cir- 
 cled around the Bowling Green. One of the 
 principal floats in this procession was an enor- 
 mous ship named Hamilton, which at the 
 close of the procession was deposited in the 
 Green. This required, in 1789, the appoint- 
 ment of a committee "to remove the Federal 
 Ship out of the Bowling Green, to have the 
 fence repaired, and to let out the Bowling 
 Green." 
 
 Three years before this, in 1786, there is re- 
 corded a request of Mr. Daniel Ludlow. 
 
 "That he may be permitted to have the 
 care and use of the Bowling Green, at the 
 lower end of the Broad Way, for two years, he 
 being willing, at his own expense, to manure 
 the ground, and sow the same with proper 
 grass seed, and have it well laid down as a 
 green ; and a request of Mr. Chancellor Liv- 
 ingston, that the direction and use of the said 
 Bowling Green may be granted to him, were 
 respectively read. Ordered, That the direc- 
 tion and use of the said Bowling Green, be 
 granted to Mr. Chancellor Livingston, on the 
 
Bowlino (5reen 
 
 193 
 
 terms offered by Mr. Ludlow." Evidently, 
 Mr. Chancellor Livingston had "a pull." 
 
 In 1 79 1, the street committee reported 
 ''That in their opinion the Bowling Green, 
 in front of the Government House, ought to 
 be preserved, and that it will be necessary the 
 fence should be raised in proportion to the reg- 
 ulation of Broadway. Agreed to." In 1795, 
 it was "Ordered, — that the inclosed ground, 
 commonly called the Bowling Green, in front 
 of the Government House, be appropriated to 
 the use of the Governor, for the time being." 
 Notwithstanding the fact that it had been thus 
 set aside for the use of the Governor, in this 
 same year, on July 18, the sanctity of the Green 
 was invaded by a tumultuous crowd of citizens 
 who had just held a public meeting to express 
 their opposition to the treaty with England, 
 which had recently been concluded by John 
 Jay. At this meeting, which had been ad- 
 dressed by Aaron Burr and Chancellor Liv- 
 ingston, some one moved that they should 
 adjourn to the Bowling Green and burn the 
 treaty. This was done, the band playing 
 the "Carmagnole," — the French and American 
 flags being bound together, — the treaty having 
 been considered by many as a repudiation of 
 our indebtedness to France. 
 
 The Governor did not seem to appreciate the 
 advantages of the Bowling Green, or perhaps 
 he was not able to preserve its privacy, for, in 
 
 Ube 
 
 ©recn 
 Set asiSe 
 tor tbe TUsc 
 
 of tbe 
 ©overnor 
 
194 
 
 BowliuG <3reen 
 
 Desttucs 
 
 tion of tbe 
 
 ifort 
 
 1798, we find that it was ordered ''That Mr. 
 John Rogers may have the use of the Bowling 
 Green, on condition that he keep it in good 
 order, and suffer no creatures to run in it." 
 
 In a map of 1797, the Bowling Green has 
 assumed its present shape, the fort has dis- 
 appeared, the Government House, above re- 
 ferred to, occupying its site, the Battery has 
 been extended, but even yet the ** order" 
 given seventy years before for the laying out 
 of additional streets, had not been complied 
 with except as to Greenwich Street, showing 
 that municipal progress was not much more 
 rapid at that time than now. The destruction 
 of the Fort seems to have been determined 
 upon in 1789, when, by act of the Legislature, 
 " The ground at the Fort and the Battery was 
 reserved for the public use and for continuing 
 the Broad Way through to the river." This 
 last was never done. 
 
 In 1790, it was ** Ordered, that Messrs. Tor- 
 boss, Van Zant and George Janeway, be ap- 
 pointed commissioners to superintend the 
 taking down the stone and removing the 
 earth of the Fort." The earth thus removed 
 was used to enlarge the area of the Battery 
 ''from Eli's corner to the Flat Rock." When 
 the Fort was torn down, a vault, which had 
 been sealed up under the chapel, was uncov- 
 ered. In this were the remains of Lord Bella- 
 mont, members of his family, and some others. 
 
JSowUng (3rcen 
 
 195 
 
 Lord Bellamont's family was distinguished by 
 the silver plates bearing the family escutcheon, 
 let into the lead coffins. The coffins and bones 
 were buried in an unmarked grave in St. Paul's 
 churchyard. Mr. Van Zant, one of the com- 
 missioners, secured the silver plates, intending 
 to preserve them, but after his death they were 
 converted into spoons. 
 
 The Battery, which has retained nothing 
 whatever suggestive of its warlike origin ex- 
 cept the name, owes its beginning to the fol- 
 lowing order. In 1693, the then Governor 
 made the following proclamation: " 
 
 ** Whereas there is actual warr between 
 our Sovereign Lord and Lady the King and 
 Queen, and the French King; and I am in- 
 formed of a Squadron of Ships and land 
 forces, intended from France to invade this 
 Citty and Province ; and whereas, for the 
 safety and preservation thereof, I fmde itt of 
 absolute necessity to make a platforme upon 
 the outmost pointe of rocks under the Fort, 
 whereon I intend to build a battery to com- 
 mand both rivers; I have therefore thought 
 fitte, and doe hereby require you, the Mayor, 
 Recorder and Aldermen of the Citty of New 
 York and Manning and Barnes Island, to cut 
 down 86 cordes of stockades, of 12 feet in 
 length, and to have them in readiness to be 
 conveyed to New York. 
 
 (Signed) " Benj. Fletcher." 
 
 ©rigin of 
 
 tbe 
 3Batters 
 
196 
 
 JSowliuG Green 
 
 Ube 
 ffiatters 
 
 The rocks upon which the Battery was built 
 were called Capske Rocks. These works were 
 then known as the Whitehall Battery, and 
 from this time on, until the close of the Revo- 
 lutionary War, various additions were made 
 thereto, and later, somewhere about the be- 
 ginning of the present century, there was 
 built what was known as the Southwest Bat- 
 tery, some three hundred feet or more from 
 the shore, the approach to which was by 
 means of a bridge with a draw. This later 
 was called *' Castle Clinton." In the year 
 1822, upon the Federal government taking 
 possession of Governor's Island, Castle Clin- 
 ton was ceded to the city. It was then pro- 
 posed that this and the former Battery, and 
 the grounds included between, should be 
 made into a public park, Castle Clinton being 
 turned into a public assembly-room, and 
 called Castle Garden, afterwards to be made 
 famous by Jenny Lind's first concert, Septem- 
 ber 12, 1850. 
 
 On Lafayette's return to America, in 1824, 
 "a splendid fete and gala was given to him 
 at Castle Garden, on September 14, which for 
 grandeur, expense, and entire effect was 
 never before witnessed in this country. About 
 six thousand persons were assembled in that 
 immense area, and the evening being clear and 
 calm, the whole passed off happily, owing to 
 the excellent arrangementsof the committee.'"® 
 
JBovvlina (3reen 197 
 
 On December 5, 1851, the Hungarian hero, caatic 
 Louis Kossuth, arrived, and was received at ^^"^^^'^ 
 Castle Garden, after which he was escorted 
 to his hotel by a procession, which for years 
 was famous for its size and enthusiasm. For 
 nearly forty years, beginning in 1855, this 
 building was used as the emigrants' landing- 
 place and depot, and later was transformed 
 into a public aquarium. 
 
 For many years the Battery was the city's 
 parade-ground. Here, in the heyday of their 
 popularity, the Pulaski Cadets, the Light 
 Guard, the red-coated City Guards, and the 
 Tompkins Blues went through their elaborate 
 manoeuvres, before the admiring gaze of the 
 citizens grouped in surrounding windows and 
 on the walks. Here, also, the Blue Stockings 
 and the Red Stockings vied for championship 
 in the national game. 
 
 In his Diary, Philip Hone writes: 
 
 '*<^pril 75^ 1834. — This was the day of the 
 Great Fete at Castle Garden, to celebrate the 
 triumph gained by the Whig Party in the late 
 Charter election in this city, and it went off 
 gloriously. Tables were spread in a double 
 row within the outer circumference. Three 
 pipes of wine and 40 barrels of beer were 
 placed in the centre under an awning, and 
 served out during the repast." '^ 
 
 ''Monday, October the 2yth, 1834, — The 
 Jackson men marched down to Castle Garden, 
 
JSowlinG areen 
 
 Caetle 
 
 <5ai"6en 
 
 where a feast (not of reason) was prepared, and 
 a flow of whiskey (not of soul) was served out 
 gratuitously to the well drilled troops of the 
 Regency. They fired guns and exhibited fire 
 works, and all in the way of rejoicing for vic- 
 tories not won, or rather ' to keep their spirits 
 up by pouring spirits down.' " '" 
 
 '' iAprilthe loth, /5j5.— The weather being 
 fine and spring-like, I walked for an hour with 
 my wife on the battery. Strange as it is, I do 
 not think that either of us had done such a thing 
 in the last seven years, and what a wonderful 
 spot it is. The grounds are in fine order. The 
 noble bay, with the opposite shores of New 
 Jersey, Staten and Long Islands, vessels of 
 every description, from the noble, well-ap- 
 pointed Liverpool packet, to the little market 
 craft and steamers arriving from every point, 
 give life and animation to a prospect unex- 
 celled by any city in the world. It would be 
 well worth travelling loo miles out of one's 
 way in a foreign country to get a sight of, 
 and yet we citizens of New York, who have 
 it all under our noses seldom enjoy it. Like 
 all other enjoyments, it loses its value from 
 being too easily obtained." '^ 
 
 In a very rare book of letters, written in 
 1793, by Governor Drayton, of Carolina, he 
 writes: ''At the lower end of Broadway is 
 the Battery, and public parade: . . . be- 
 tween the guns and the water is a public 
 
JSovvlinG (3reen 
 
 199 
 
 walk, made by a gentle decline from the plat- 
 form; . . . some little distance behind 
 the guns two rows of elm trees are planted; 
 which in a short time will afford an agreeable 
 shade; . . . the back part of the ground 
 is laid out in smaller walks, terraces, and a 
 bowling green." 
 
 ''Overlooking this prospect, is the Govern- 
 ment House; plac'd upon an handsome eleva- 
 tion, and fronting Broadway, having before it 
 an elegant elliptical approach, round an area of 
 near an acre of ground, enclosed by an iron rail- 
 ing. In the midst of this is a pedastal, which for- 
 merly was pressed by a leaden equestrian statue 
 of the King of Great Britain ; but having been 
 dismantled of that, for the use of the continen- 
 tal army, it now remains ready, in due time I 
 hope, to receive the statue of the President of 
 the United States of America. When that pe- 
 riod shall arrive, in addition to the many daily 
 occurrences which lead the mind of the pas- 
 senger to pensive reflection; this monument 
 of his country's gratitude shall call his atten- 
 tion ; and while deeds of former times, shall 
 pass in sweet review before him, the tear 
 shall lament the loss of an hero — but the heart 
 collected within itself, shall urge him by so 
 bright an example, to call forth his powers 
 and to pursue the steps of virtue and of 
 honor." 
 
 "... The Government House is two 
 
 Ube 
 :©attecs 
 
:!6o\vlmG (Breen 
 
 Governs 
 ment 
 tbousc 
 
 Stories high. Projecting before it is a portico, 
 covered by a pediment; upon which is su- 
 perbly carved in basso relievo, the arms of 
 the State, supported by justice and liberty, as 
 large as life. The arms and figures are white, 
 placed in a blue field; and the pediment is 
 supported by four white pillars of the Ionic 
 order, which are the height of both stories." 
 
 The Government House herein referred to 
 was built upon a part of the land occupied by 
 the Fort. As we have already seen, it was in 
 1790 that the Fort was taken down, and shortly 
 afterward this house was erected for the use 
 of Washington. Afterward, Governors Clinton 
 and Jay both lived in it, and at one time it was 
 used as a Custom-House." 
 
 We can find no record showing when the 
 Fort and the adjacent land passed from under 
 the control of the City to that of the Province, 
 and thence to the State. It was by an act of 
 the Legislature, not of the City Council, that, in 
 1790, the Fort was destroyed and the Govern- 
 ment House built. On May 26, 1812, an act 
 was passed: 
 
 ''Be it enacted by the people of the State 
 of New York, represented in Senate and As- 
 sembly, that the Comptroller is hereby author- 
 ized to sell and convey in fee simple, all the 
 right, title and interest of the people of this 
 state in and to the Government House and the 
 grounds adjoining, in the city of New York, 
 
Bowliua Oreen 
 
 to the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of 
 the said city, for a sum not less than fifty 
 thousand dollars, and to receive in payment 
 therefor, the bond of the said mayor, alder- 
 men and commonalty, payable in ten years, 
 with interest annually, at the rate of six per 
 centum : 
 
 "Provided always, That the said corpora- 
 tion shall not have the right of selling the said 
 grounds for the erection of private buildings, 
 or other individual purposes." 
 
 The city authorities evidently did not pro- 
 pose to be limited in their rights, nor to pay a 
 round sum of money for land which they could 
 not realize upon, however cheap it might seem. 
 They refused to avail themselves of the option 
 to purchase, so on April 13, 18 13, another act 
 was passed: *' Be it further enacted. That the 
 proviso to the enacting clause of the act enti- 
 tled ' An act to authorize the sale of certain 
 public property 'm the city of New York,' 
 passed the 26th of May 1812, be and the same 
 is hereby repealed, and that if the mayor, al- 
 dermen and commonalty of New York shall 
 not, by the first day of November next, pur- 
 chase the Government House and lands ad- 
 joining, then the authority given to the 
 comptroller in and by said act to sell the 
 said house and land shall cease." 
 
 This threat seems to have supplied the nec- 
 essary fillip, and suggested a chance for specu- 
 
 ©overns 
 ment 
 "BDouse 
 
JSowliuG Ovccn 
 
 Sale of 
 
 tbe 
 
 ©overns 
 
 ment 
 
 'fi3ou0e 
 
 lation, for under date of August 2, 18 13, the 
 Comptroller of the State ** conveyed to the 
 said Mayor, &c., all the certain messuage and 
 lot of ground situate in the First Ward of the 
 city of New York, commonly known by the 
 name of the Government House and lot. Sub- 
 ject to a lease of the Government House to 
 DeWitt Clinton and others, made pursuant to 
 section 34 of the act of 29 March, 1809, which 
 does not expire until the ist of May, 181 5." 
 As soon as the lease expired, the city hastened 
 to ''bag its profit," selling the land and giving 
 title thereto on June 19, 1815, for about double 
 what they were under bond to pay, and before 
 they had paid out anything whatever. Some 
 time during this year the Government House 
 is said to have been destroyed by fire. 
 
 The land facing on the Green was sold in 
 seven parcels or lots, each being about thirty- 
 one feet front and one hundred and thirty feet 
 in depth, except the one on the northeast, at 
 the corner of Whitehall Street, which was only 
 four feet on the front and twenty-three feet 
 wide in the rear. The original grantees were : 
 
 Lot I. (Northwest corner.) 
 
 Deeded to Noah Brown. 
 1825 to 1 86 1, owned by Stephen Whitney. 
 1888 "present, " " U. S. Trust Company. 
 
 Lot. 2. Deeded to Abijah Weston. 
 1834 to 1887, owned by Elisha Riggs. 
 1887 " present, " " J. L. Cadwalader. 
 
JSowlina (3reen 
 
 203 
 
 Lot 3. Deeded to Elbert Anderson. 
 1 82 1 to 1829, owned by Samuel Ward, Jr. 
 1829 *' 1853, " ** Andrew Foster. 
 1854 ** present, *' '' Cornelius Vander- 
 bilt, et al. 
 
 Lot 4. Deeded to Elbert Anderson. 
 1823 to 1829, owned by Herman Le Roy. 
 1829 '' 1852, " ** Lewis Curtis. 
 1862 ** present, " *' A. Hemenway, etal., 
 trustees, etc. 
 
 Lot 5. Deeded to James Byers. 
 1838 to 1883, owned by Ferdinand Suydam, 
 
 et al., trustees, etc. 
 1883 to present, owned by Theodore Chiches- 
 ter. 
 
 Lot 6. Deeded to Peter Remsen. 
 1840 to 1855, owned by W. E. Wilmerding. 
 1 87 1 ** present, ** *' Herman C. Von Post. 
 
 Lot 7. {Northeast corner.) 
 Deeded to John Hone. 
 
 Hone was the only original owner who re- 
 tained his lot more than a year or so. He 
 sold it in i860 to W. B. Cooper, in whose fam- 
 ily it still remains. 
 
 From the earliest days of the city, when the 
 Governor lived within the Fort, later, when 
 the Government House occupied this same 
 site, and afterwards, when this land became 
 private property, this locality, and the imme- 
 diate neighborhood, was the most select and 
 fashionable part of the city. As the natural 
 
 Grantees 
 
204 Bowling Oreen 
 
 steams growth of the city and the encroachment of 
 ^^^„ business drove private residences farther and 
 farther northward, this particular row of 
 houses facing the Green preserved their in- 
 dividual characteristics, and were used as 
 dwellings. They still retain their exterior ap- 
 pearance, though they have ceased to be so 
 used. They are now occupied by the offices 
 of the large foreign steamship companies, 
 which has given them the name of '* Steam- 
 ship Row." Some years ago it was ordered 
 by Congress that this land should be bought 
 and the United States Custom-House be built 
 here. Opposition and litigation have until 
 now prevented, but at last it seems likely that 
 this project will be accomplished, and this 
 land, which had always been public property 
 until 1815, and upon which the old Custom- 
 House had been for a time, will again become 
 the property of the public, and in place of a 
 Fort — emblem of strife and distrust among na- 
 tions — a Custom-House, suggestive of peaceful 
 intercourse and friendly commerce, will be 
 built, worthy of the nation and of the city. 
 
 The land on the east of the Green, where 
 the Produce Exchange now stands, was first 
 granted to individuals about 1646. Among 
 the first owners were Jonas Barteltzen and 
 Frerick Arenzen. The latter owned the land on 
 the southwest corner of Whitehall and what 
 was then Marketfield Streets. AUard Anthony, 
 
iBowliuG Green 
 
 205 
 
 one of the most prominent citizens of his day, 
 lived on the opposite corner. Roelof Jansen 
 Haas owned the land to the corner of Beaver 
 Street." The southern portion of the Produce 
 Exchange land was forfeited to the people of 
 the State at the time of the Revolution, by the 
 attainders of Beverly Robinson and Frederick 
 Philipse. The Legislature, on May 12, 1784, 
 passed ''An Act for the speedy sale of the 
 confiscated and forfeited estates within this 
 State." Isaac Stoutenburg and Philip Van 
 Cortlandt, the commissioners appointed under 
 this act, sold the land. In 1880, the Legislature 
 passed a special act authorizing the closing 
 up of Marketfield Street, and deeding it to the 
 Produce Exchange. 
 
 We have already referred to some of the 
 earlier occupants of the properties now known 
 as numbers 1 to 1 1 Broadway. In the house 
 standing on what is now 9 Broadway, Bene- 
 dict Arnold, after the capture of Andre and the 
 exposure of his treachery, had his quarters." 
 It was while here that Sergeant John Champe 
 attempted to capture him. The garden at the 
 rear of the house sloped down to the river, 
 and a party of patriots were to land here from 
 a boat, and, having secured, carry him away. 
 The very day of the attempt Arnold moved his 
 quarters, it was never known whether simply 
 by accident, or from disclosure of the plot. 
 Washington Irving lived around the corner, 
 
 Iprobuce 
 lEfCbange 
 
2o6 
 
 JSowling (Breen 
 
 Cbanges 
 
 aroun^ 
 
 tbe (Srcen 
 
 on State Street, and near him Mr. Howland, 
 long one of the most prominent shipping- 
 merchants of the city." James K. Paulding, 
 a descendant of one of the captors of Major 
 Andre, and who afterward became Secretary 
 of the Navy under Van Buren, one of the au- 
 thors of Salmagundi, lived on the same block, 
 at 29 Whitehall Street. 
 
 While all these changes have been going 
 on around it, the Green has quietly, and with 
 the proud conservatism of age, preserved its 
 own dignified existence. Always ready to 
 give itself to the public, whether for play or 
 rest, in peace or war, it has been the centre 
 of the busy life of the village, of the fashion- 
 able life of the town, and now of the com- 
 mercial activity of the city. The Produce 
 Exchange, controlling the grain trade of a con- 
 tinent, looks down upon it. The offices of 
 the largest steamship companies of the world 
 surround it. The Custom-House, registering 
 the commerce of the Western Hemisphere, 
 will face it. Some of the greatest modern 
 office buildings, overtopping the spire of ** Old 
 Trinity," hem it in. Broadway, the longest 
 street in the world, starts from its oval. In 
 this year of grace, 1898, New York has greatly 
 enlarged its borders; the city of Brooklyn 
 and many of the surrounding townships hav- 
 ing united in the one city now called colloqui- 
 ally ' * Greater New York. " Of this new city our 
 
Bowling Green 
 
 207 
 
 little friend, the Bowling Green, has become 
 the heart. It is the geographical centre of the 
 enlarged metropolis. 
 
 Changes 
 
 arounS 
 
 tbe ©reen 
 
208 
 
 Bowlina Otccn 
 
 
 
 REFERENCES. 
 
 
 IRcfcrences 
 
 I 
 
 Peter Fauconnier's Survey Book, 1715-34. 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Documents relating to Colonial History of New 
 (edited by E. B. O'Callaghan), i., p. 74. 
 
 ror;^ 
 
 
 3 
 
 Booth's History of New York, p. 122. 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Records of New Amsterdam, i., p. 65. 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Ibid., i., p. 90. 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 Valentine's '/yz5/o;7, p. 161. 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Valentine's Manual, 1857, p. 498. 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 English Records. 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 Valentine's History, p. 287. 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 English Records. 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 Valentine's History, p. 285. 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 Booth's History, p. 490. 
 
 
 
 «4 
 
 Lamb's History, p. 98. 
 
 
 
 '5 
 
 Valentine's History, p. 98. 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 Valentine's Manual, 1856, p. 381. 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 English Records, 1693. 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 Valentine's Manual, 1853, p, 467. 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 Philip Hone's Diary, p. loi. 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 /^/c?., p. 115. 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 /&iW., p. 137. 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 Washington Irving, Salmagundi, p. 319. N. Y., 
 
 1897. 
 
 
 23 
 
 Valentine's History, pp. 96, 127. 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 Booth's History, p. 562. 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 Vv^ilson's History of New York, 1893. 
 
 
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