/^INTROSPECTIVE <_/ ^ history of Lower. New York lEx ICthrtH SEYMOUR DURST When you leave, please leave this book Because it has been said "Ever thing comes t' him who waits Except a loaned book.'' OLD YORK LIBRARY - OLD YORK FOUNDATION Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old Y< >rk Library Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 http://archive.org/details/retrospectivehisOObayn Qy^Re-trospecttve Historical Sketck 3^New\ork jfaom ike Arrival o/^t/te Half Moon in 1609 particularly relating to tke Location oftAe Seaboard National Bank at -f£e comer of BROAD AND BEAVER STREETS The exact sfiot being where the small bridge stands as shown in the above sketch 1o Our ^Fr tends &JDepo3ttorj New York the Mecca of American youth r \ E do not agree with the more or less 10/ popular conception that even a serious - | and conservative bank should be con- ducted as if it were a financial morgue and that its President should have a face that could be appropriately chosen as a frontispiece for the Book of Lamentations, with an expression that reflects the well-known character of Uriah Heep. On the contrary, he should, when opportunity offers, drop some comic relief into the sombre scenes in which he is usually cast, to lighten up the gloom, as it were. With this idea in mind, we have attempted to write a few lines describing the arrival of a man making his first visit to New York, to which he has looked for- ward as the event of his life, a Mecca about which he has been reading up ever since he was a boy, so that he would be properly injormed when he arrived and could enjoy it to the limit. [2} Copyright, 192 1, by the Seaboard National Bank m iHEN a stranger drops into New York, he usually "hikes" to one of the jumbo hotels de luxe de pandemonium which furnish filled pocket pistols for side arms, grabs a pen, dashes down his nom de plume on the dotted line with a John Hancock flourish, and remarks to the "Glad Hand" in attendance: "Some little burg you live in, I guess." This formula is the signal, and the game is on. "I see you do not rattle the verbal castanets in the overture to your initiation, but may I politely inquire, Are you up for a financial joy-ride with hold-ups on the side, or would you delve into the delights of our cubist art and real Old Masters, see the stage beauties on the Great White Way, prance in the cabaret, admire the latest female Betelgeuse who enthralls the jeune d'or of the town, or do you want to fritter away your time on the futile blooms of piffledom — which w T ould call for your admission into the strictly new and popular set that is now known as the 'Boobery'?" queries the mentor. "Well, you're quite a conversational soloist yourself, I see," answers the "Arrival," "but I think I'll just spin over the orbit of your highest delights before deciding what I want to do — in strict keeping with the straight and narrow, of course." "Yes, sir, we believe this is quite a beau ideal place; but you would never dream that it was once sold by the Indians to the first syndicate ever formed on this continent New for twenty-four dollars! This is a cold historic fact and is *° corroborated by that practical pyramid of humor and so ^ f or $24 veracity with the undying fame of the ancient joker of all time, the immortal 'Sage of Peekskill,' who might well have been President of the United States if he had not chosen to crack jokes with the Roman emperors. He was in on this $24-deal, all right! egged on the traders and helped to draw up the papers. Still more remarkable is the fact that a part of this classic and historic ground is the Seaboard Bank's site for its new home. It is in the verv center of things: it is located at the junction of a stream and an inlet that were once crowded with fish, clams and oysters — in fact, it has the 'saddle-rocks' for its foundations! This, however, when accurately differentiated, would leave the site costing the owners not more than a dime; whereas, they were offered a million and a half for it before they took possession — quite paradoxical, but strictly true." If King George's ancestors had what we are now pleased to call "vision," and had secured an interest in this great #24-transaction, see where the Guelphs would stand to-day! But they did not do it, and thus a gigantic blunder was consummated. George, however, did not turn a dark olive green with envy and grief, but faced both fate and the music, like a true sport. He philosophically reflected' that if the royal Victorian Guelphs had become interested, they would have grown so rich that they would not have been contented with the pastime of continuing in the royalty trade, with all its cares and pitfalls, forever passing up the seats in the financial Hall of Fame which would have been theirs on accepting the alternative of a line of money-bags to a line of kings. This can hardly be called a sound, logical argument based on good reasoning and common sense, but the subject is bristling with international dif- ficulties, and we must "play safe" at all costs! If we did not, for instance, and we could scrape up the price of a passage to England, they might clap us in the Tower of London and make a Roman holiday out of what we had planned as a Cook's tour! One never can tell how Fate may play ducks and drakes with our best-laid plans and intentions. So we will drop the discussion just where it is, and hope our friends will take no offense at what has been said, for none was intended. We will now take up in all seriousness the sketch of the lower part of Manhattan Island, which we hope will be interesting to our friends and customers. Ul SEABOARD NATIONAL BANK If HE earliest records extant state that as far back as 1598, a few Hollanders in the employ of a Green- land company were in the habit of resorting to New Netherlands {i.e., New York) merely to secure shelter during the winter months. With this view they built two small huts to protect themselves against the Indians. Never- theless, the fact remains undisputed that to Hudson belongs the honor of being the first who directed public attention to the Island of Manhattan as an advantageous point for a trading port in the New World. The topography of New York Island, as it was first seen by Hudson from the deck of the ''Half Moon," was as follows: "The lower part of it consisted of wood-crowned hills and beautiful grassy valleys, including a chain of swamps and marshes and a deep pool. Northward it rose into a rocky high crown. The sole inhabitants were a tribe of dusky Indians — an offshoot from the great nation of the These small huts are quite a contrast to the Wool worth Building Lenni Lenape, who inhabited the vast territory bounded by the Penobscot and the Potomac, the Atlantic and the Mississippi, dwelling in the clusters of rude wigwams that dotted here and there the surface of the country. The rivers that girt the island were as yet undisturbed by the keels of ships, and the bark canoes of the native Manhattans held sole possession of the peaceful waters. "The upper part of the island was rocky and covered by a dense forest, the lower part grassy and rich in wild fruits and flowers. Grapes and strawberries grew in abun- dance in the fields, and nuts of various kinds were plentiful in the forests, which were also filled with an abundance of game. The brooks and ponds were swarming with fish, and the soil was of luxuriant fertility. An inlet occupied the place of Broad Street, and a long line of meadows and swampy ground stretched to the northward along the eastern shore. The highest line of land lay along Broadway from the Battery to the northernmost part of the island, forming its backbone and sloping gradually to the east and west," Hudson's glowing account of the rich peltry he had seen in the newly discovered regions soon turned the atten- tion of the busy Dutch to a country where these articles No duty on could be purchased without the taxes of custom-houses and furs in 1610 other duties. Accordingly, in the year 1610 a few merchants dispatched a vessel to traffic in fur with the Indians. This was followed by other vessels, and thus was begun the important fur trade which was soon to be the chief source of wealth to Holland and America. In the year 1617, a formal treaty of peace and alliance was concluded between the Dutch and the powerful nation of the Iroquois. The pipe of peace was smoked and the hatchet buried in the earth. This treaty greatly increased the prosperity of the Dutch traders, who had hitherto occu- pied Manhattan merely by the sufferance of the Indians. Up to this period, the Hollanders had considered Manhattan as a trading post only, and dwelt in mere temporary huts of [6] VIEW OF THE CITY OF NEW AMSTERDAM NOW NEW YORK rude construction. In 1623, the West India Company began to colonize with fresh zeal. In the "New Netherland" thirty families embarked for the distant territory whose name she bore, and with the arrival of the vessel a new era in the domestic history of the settlement began. Soon saw- mills supplied the necessary timber for comfortable dwellings in the place of the bark huts built after the Indian fashion. The new buildings were generally one story high with two rooms on a floor, and a thatched roof garret. For want of brick and mortar the chimneys were constructed of wood. The interior was very scantily supplied with furniture — the great chest from Fatherland with its prized household goods being the most imposing article. Tables were generally the heads of barrels placed on end; rough shelves constituted the cupboard, and chairs were logs of wood rough hewn from the forest. To complete the furniture there was the well- known "Sloap Banck," or sleeping bench — the bedstead — where lay the boast, the pride, the comfort of a Dutch housekeeper, the feather bed. Around the present Battery and Coenties Slip and Bowling Green were the houses, a few of which were surrounded by gardens. The fruit trees often excited the thieving propensities of the natives, and one devastating war followed the shooting of an Indian girl The sawmills start the real estate boom Ye gods! a cargo of furs for $12,000! The ladies shed regretful tears! while stealing peaches from an orchard on Broadway near the present Bowling Green. Meanwhile commerce kept pace with the new houses, and the staunch ship "New Netherland" returned to Hol- land with a cargo of furs valued at $12,000. In 1626, the first seal was granted to the province, having for a crest a beaver, than which for a coat-of-arms nothing could have been more appropriate. It was fitting that the earliest Hollanders of the "Empire City" should thus honor the animal that was fast enriching them in their newly adopted home. In the first act of his administration, Peter Minuit, Director-General of New Netherland, purchased in an open and honorable manner the Island of Manhattan from the Indians for sixty guilders, equal to #24. The island was estimated to contain 22,000 acres. The price paid, it is true, was a mere trifle, but the purchase itself was lawful and satisfactory to the aboriginal owners — a fact which cannot be truly said in regard to other regions taken from the Indians. At this time some thirty rudely constructed log-houses extended along the shores of the East River, which with a block-house, a horse-mill and the "Company's" thatched stone building constituted the City of New York some three hundred years ago. Every settler had his own cabin and hrfL /nv *Jv ■ \ l ^gS^'^i^VT, THE OLD FORT [8] cows, tilled his land, or traded with the Indians — all were busy, like their emblem, the beaver. The settlement of New Amsterdam continued to prosper, and in the year 1629 the exports from Manhattan exceeded 130,000 guilders. At length, in the month of April, 1633, the ship "Soutberg" reached Manhattan, and among the passengers came Dominie Everardus Bogardus and Adam Roelandsen, the first regular clergyman and schoolmaster of New Am- sterdam. A church now became indispensable, and the room over the horse-mill, where prayers had been regularly read for seven years, was abandoned for a rude wooden church on Pearl between Whitehall and Broad Streets, on the shores of the East River. This was the first Reformed Dutch Church in the city, and near by were constructed the parsonage and the Dominie's stables. The graveyard was laid out on Broadway in the vicinity of Morris Street. The West India Company had authorized the forti- fying of the depots of the fur trade; accordingly, the fort on the Battery, commenced in the year 1626, was rebuilt, and a guardhouse and barracks prepared for the soldiers. Several brick and stone dwellings were erected within the fort, also three windmills which were used to grind the grain necessary for the garrison on the southwest bastion of the fort. African slaves were the laborers principally engaged upon these improvements. During the adminis- tration of Van Twilier, Fort Amsterdam was finished in 1635. The walls of the fort were in no wise improved by the incompetent Van Twilier, except the northwest bastion, which was faced with stone. The other parts of the walls were simply banks of earth without ditches, nor were they even surrounded by a fence to keep off the goats and other animals running at large in the town. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the fort exercised a very salutary influence in keeping the Indians at a respectful distance. Van Twilier, though he was an inefficient Governor, was a thorough merchant, and understood the monopoly of the fur trade; and when the English ship "William" [9] Our forefathers began to pray was a fighter CORNER OF EXCHANGE PLACE AND BROAD STREET arrived in the bay, bringing Jacob Eelkins, Van Twiller refused permission for the vessel to proceed further on its way, and demanded Eelkins' commission. The Governor ordered the national flag hoisted and three guns fired in honor of the Prince of Orange, and forbade Eelkins to pro- ceed further. The latter, however, running up the British colors and firing a salute for King Charles, coolly steered up Van the river, in defiance of Fort Amsterdam. Astonished as Twiller y an Twiller was at this daring act, he nevertheless pro- ceeded philosophically. First, he summoned all the people in front of the fort, now the Bowling Green; next, he ordered a cask of wine and another of beer; then filling his own glass, he called on all good citizens who loved the Prince of Orange to follow his patriotic example and drink confusion to the English Government. Meanwhile the settlement at Fort Amsterdam, the New York embryo, continued to increase and prosper, and men of enterprise and wealth often arrived. Ships were loaded with bricks burnt in Holland. At first every dwelling was modeled after those they had left, with storerooms for trade, like those of Amsterdam and other trading towns in Fatherland. Thus at New Amsterdam rows of houses could [10] be seen built of imported brick with thatched roofs, wooden chimneys, and their gable ends always toward the street. In 1870, a few of these original venerable Dutch homes could still be seen. Until the year 1642, city lots and streets were unknown, adventurers and settlers selecting land wherever most convenient for their purpose; hence, the crooked courses of some of our downtown streets, notably Pearl (so named because of the pearly shells found p ear i along the shore), which formed the bank of the river — Street Water, Front and South Streets having all been re- crooked as claimed for the purpose of increasing trade and com- a ram's merce. Pearl, it is thought, was the first street occu- horn pied, the first houses being built there in 1633. Bridge Street came next, and a deed is still in existence for a lot on it, 34 by no feet, for the sum of 24 guilders ($9.60). This is the earliest conveyance of city property on record. Whitehall, Stone, Beaver and Marketfield Streets were opened soon after. In the year 1642, the first grant of a city lot east of the fort at the Battery was made. During the next year several lots were granted on the lower end of "Heere Straat," as Broadway was then named. The first [iil A good cow is a gold mine to-day grantee of a lot in this section opposite the Bowling Green was Martin Krigier. There he built the well known Krigier's Tavern, which soon became a fashionable resort. Upon the demolition of this building, its site was occupied by the "King's Arms" Tavern which in after years was the head- quarters of the British General, Gage. Subsequently it became the "Atlantic Garden," No. 9 Broadway, where it long remained one of the striking mementoes of the olden time. In those early days the city lay south of the present Wall Street. The point of land was much narrower than at present, the west shore line being at about Greenwich Street and the east line above Pearl. Battery Point then extended as far as State Street. The present site of the Custom House was occupied by Fort Amsterdam, built in 1633-35; Bowling Green was the village Common directly back of the Fort. One road ran to the shore on the east, while one running to the north is perpetuated in Lower Broadway. But the monopoly of the traffic in furs was not the only source of gain. A profitable commerce was also carried on with New England. Dutch vessels brought tobacco, salt, horses, oxen and sheep from Holland to Boston. An old account says they came from the Texel in five weeks and three days " and lost not one beast or sheep." Potatoes from Bermuda were worth twopence a pound, a good cow twenty [12] five or thirty pounds, a pair of oxen readily brought forty pounds. Under the administration of Governor Kieft, in 1641, the streets of the town were better laid out in the lower section of the city. The price of lots 30 by 125 feet averaged at this period about #14. Kieft instituted two annual fairs, one for cattle and one for hogs, upon the Bowling Green. As these fairs increased in number, the Governor found them a heavy tax upon his politeness as well as his larder, and in 1642 he erected a large stone tavern, situated on a commanding spot near the present Coenties Slip, and which was afterward altered into the "Stadt Huys" or City Hall. In 1645, Kieft, perceiving his former errors, con- cluded a treaty of amity with the Indians. In two years not less than 1,600 savages had been killed at Manhattan and its neighborhood, and scarcely 100 could be found besides traders. In May, 1647, Governor Stuyvesant arrived at Man- Kieft was the Armour of those days t 5H f B ra 1 i J OLD CITY HALL THE BOWLING GREEN AND FORT GEORGE IN 1783 In 1648 they began to regulate the taverns. They have been trying to regulate them ever since hattan and "found the colony in a low condition." Far from despairing, however, the sturdy Dutchman at once put his shoulder to the wheel. Stuyvesant seems to have been the first Governor who took pride in improving the town itself. He found the infant city very unattractive, with half the houses in a dilapidated condition, cattle run- ning at large, the public ways crooked, and the fences straggling in zigzag fashion, many of them encroaching on the lines of the streets. All these evils he at once set about to remedy, and one of his earliest acts was to appoint the first "Surveyors of Buildings," whose duties were to regulate the erection of new houses in New Amsterdam. About this period, 1648, it became necessary to regulate the taverns. Notwithstanding, however, all pre- cautions, the Indians were daily seen "running about drunk" through Manhattan streets, as white men do to-day under our modern "prohibition." Every Monday was to be a market day, and an annual fair for ten days was established, at which all persons could sell goods from their tents. The trade on the North and South Rivers was reserved for citizens having the requisite qualifications. It was declared, however, that the East River should be "free and open to any one, no [14] matter to what nation he may belong." All vessels under fifty tons were to anchor between the "Capsey Hoeck" (which divided the East and North Rivers) and the "Hand" or guide-board near the present Battery. In the year 1656, there were in New Amsterdam 120 houses and about a thousand people. "In conformity to the laudable custom of the city of Amsterdam in Europe," They still the right to be a "Great Burgher" (one who paid 500 buy offices guilders, monopolized office, and was exempt from con- sometimes fiscation of goods) was introduced into New Amsterdam. g Q ^ Q j a «j This was an absurd imitation of an invidious policy, and the fo r city was soon obliged to abandon this most offensive of all distinctions — an aristocracy founded on class, or mere wealth. In October, 1673, Captain Colve (Dutch) being in command of the city, we find it stated in one of the orders that the fortifications had then, at great expense and labor to the citizens, been brought "to perfection." The entire city assumed the appearance of a military post, the Com- mons becoming the parade ground. A wall or palisade was placed around it, running from Trinity Church along Wall Street — hence its name — and block-houses protected the settlement on every side. The city at this period comprised 320 houses. In 1674, tne treaty of peace between England and the States-General was signed at Westminster, and the Dutch, having discovered and possessed the beautiful country of New Netherland for almost sixty years, were now once and forever dispossessed of it. On the 9th of February, 1674, the old fort became "Fort James," having surrendered to Sir Edmund Andros, who had been appointed Governor by the Duke of York. Shortly before the cession of New Amsterdam to the British rule, the settlement was celebrated for its number of young people, as the children of the early immigrants had then reached adult age. Many romantic rural spots everywhere surrounding the settlements at New Nether- hsl Until lately Gold Street was a gold brick; it is almost a platinum disc now land were naturally favorable to the important business of courtship, and there were several places of pleasant resort famed for this business, even at that early day. On the site of the present Trinity Church was the West India Company's beautiful garden, with its rich flowers and vegetable productions. A little beyond the town was "Maiden's Valley," now Maiden Lane, a rural shady walk with a charming little rivulet running through it. The original name of this rustic walk was "T'Maagde Paatje," or the. "Maiden's Path." South of this lane stretched Clover Watie or "pasture field," and from the present Gold Street, hidden in the foliage, a little stream, fed by a living spring, came tumbling down among the rocks. At this time the town windmill stood on a bluff within our present Battery, opposite Greenwich Street. On Water, between Whitehall and Moore Streets, was the "Government House," built by Stuyvesant, of stone, and the best edifice in town. When Governor Dongan became its owner, he changed its name from "Government House" to "Whitehall," hence the name of the street. It was surrounded by a large inclosure, one side of which with the garden was washed by the river, and a little dock for pleasure boats ran into the stream at this point. Here also was located the Governor's house, between which and the canal in Broad Street was the present Pearl Street, then the great center of trade — known as the "Waterside," and some- times as the "Strand." Near the Governor's house was the "Way-house," or " Weigh-house," at the head of the public wharf at the foot of the present Moore Street. A very short distance off and parallel with Pearl Street, ran the "Brugh Straat " (the present Bridge Street), so named from the fact of its leading to the bridge across the canal in Broad Street. The canal in Broad Street was in truth but a narrow stream running toward Wall Street for a quarter of a mile. Both sides were dyked with posts, in the fashion of Fatherland, at a distance of 12 ft. from the houses. On each side, as houses line the canals in Holland, stood a row of buildings C 16] in the older Dutch style, low, high-peaked, and very neat. Each had its stoop, a vane or weather-cock, and its dormer window. From the roof of one a little iron crane projected, with a small boat at its end, as a sign of this being the " Ferry-house." The landing was at the head of the canal in Broad Street, at the point where Garden Street united with it. This canal was a little stream originally and went up to " Verlettenberg Hill" (Exchange Place). Here the country people from Brooklyn, Gowanus and Bergen brought their marketing to the center of the city. Many of the market boats were rowed by stout women, wearing close caps. There were generally two rowers to each craft. Further along the East River, or "Waterside," was the " Stadt Huys," or City Hall, in front of which was placed a battery of three guns. Proceeding along the river shore, we pass Hanover Square and bridge to the city gate at the foot of Wall Street, sometimes called the "Water Gate," to distinguish it from the "Land Gate" at the end of the road on the " Sheera Straat " (Broadway). The Water Gate seems to have been quite an imposing structure, doubtless because Pearl Street was the great thoroughfare and main entrance to the town. Most of the strangers or visitors to New Amsterdam came from Long Island. At a very early day the tanneries in Broad Street were declared a nuisance, and their owners ordered to remove beyond the city limits. This they did, and established them- selves along Maiden Lane, then a marshy valley. The city wall, called the "Lingel," or ramparts, was a row of palisades with embankments nine feet high and four wide, on which several cannon were mounted on bastions. Two large stone points were afterward added — one on the corner of Broadway and Wall, called "Hol- landia," and the other on the northwest corner of Wall and William, known as "Zealandia." These completely commanded the whole front of the city wall. The canal is laid down as running the entire length of Broad Street (map of "Towne of Wambados or New [17] What would they do to a man to-day who called the City Hall the "Stadt Huys?" Amsterdam, as it was in September, 1661 "). Thirty years later, this canal was filled up. It had a little branch running toward the west, through Beaver Street. The main canal appears to have been crossed by two principal bridges, one at Bridge and the other at Stone Street, with smaller ones, evidently designed for foot passengers. Near Beaver Street small boats or canoes lay moored in the canal. On Whitehall Street stood the parsonage of the Dutch Dominie, with its garden of beautiful tulips and hyacinths, and its paths of cedar and clipped box. Close at hand stood the bakery, brewery, and warehouse of the Company. In William Street near Pearl was the old horse-mill erected by Director Minuit, and which gave good service until superseded by the three windmills of Van Twiller. One of these stood on State Street and was the most prom- inent object seen on approaching the city from the bay. The old fort itself was bounded by Bridge, Whitehall and State Streets, and the Bowling Green. Two main roads led from the fort at the Battery toward the northern part of the Island. One of these, afterward the Boston or the old Post Road, followed Broad- way to the Park, and then extended through Chatham, Duane, William, and Pearl Streets to the Bowery ("Bow- erie, ,, i.e., farm). On the 8th of December, 1683, the city was divided into six wards. The First or South Ward, beginning at the river, extended along the west side of Broad to Beaver Street; thence westward along Beaver Street to the Bowling Green; thence southward by the Fort to Pearl Street, and thence westward along the river shore to the place of start- ing. The Second or Dock Ward, also beginning at the river at the southeast corner of Pearl and Broad Streets, extended along the shore to Hanover Square; thence northward through William to Beaver Street; thence along Beaver to Broad Street; thence back and through Broad Street to the river shore. About 171 1, a new market was established at the [18] EXCHANGE— OR MARKET upper end of Broad Street, between the City Hall and Exchange Place, and permission was given to the residents of the vicinity to erect stalls and sheds to suit their con- venience, under the direction of the clerk of the market. For more than a century there had been no public library in the city, but in the year 1729, some 1,622 volumes were bequeathed to the "Venerable Society for the Propa- gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," by whom the books were in turn immediately presented to the city. To this was added another collection, the gift of the Chaplain to Lord Bellamont, when both collections were opened to the public as the "Corporation Library." In 1754, a few public-spirited citizens founded the Society Library, at the same time adding the Corporation collection, and deposited the whole in the City Hall (corner of Wall and Nassau Streets). The undertaking prospered, and in 1772, George III. granted it a charter. In 1738 a quarantine was established on Bedloe's Island, and Rector Street was opened. In 1702, there were The slave imported 165 African slaves; in 171 8, 517 arrived. After started that year, however, the traffic began to fall off, the natural increase being large. I19 1 Price of slaves was quite reasonable Ma.p aC New Amsterdam 17 16 Almost every family in the colony owned one or more negro servants, and among the richer classes their number was considered a certain evidence of their masters' prosperity. About the year 1703, a period of prosperity and social refinement with the Dutch of New Amsterdam, the Widow Van Cortlandt had five male slaves, two women and two children; Colonel DePeyster had the same number, William Beekman two, &c, &c. The slave trade was brought into the Dutch colony by the Dutch West India Company, and shortly after its introduction became a considerable and profitable branch of its shipping interest. A "prime slave" was valued at from #120 to $250, and below this price he could not profitably be purchased from Africa or the West Indies. African slavery was encouraged as the most certain and economical way of introducing slavery into a new country, where there was no surplus population. As far back as 1628, slaves constituted a portion of the population of New Amsterdam, and to such an extent had the traffic in them reached, that in 1709, a slave market was erected at the foot of Wall Street, where all negroes who were to be hired or sold stood in readiness for bidders. The boere- knechts, or servants whom the settlers brought over with them from Holland, soon deserted their field work for the fur traffic, thus causing European laborers to become scarce and high, and as a natural result, slaves, by their cheapness, became one of the staples of the new country. The passage money to New Netherland was also lessened from 50 to 30 guilders, and settlers were allowed to "sail to the coast of Angola and Africa to procure as many negroes as they might be willing to employ. " Several outbreaks had already happened among the negroes of New Amsterdam, and the whites lived in constant anticipation of trouble and danger from them. Rumors of an intended insurrection, real or imaginary, would circulate (as in the negro plot of 171 2), and the whole city be thrown into a state of alarm. The result was always the same, viz., the slaves always suffered, many dying by the fagot or the gallows. In 1741, New York swarmed with negroes, and her leading merchants were engaged in the slave trade, at that time regarded fair and honorable. New York then resembled a southern city, with its calaboose on the Park Commons and its slave market at the foot of Wall Street. At this time the city contained some 10,000 inhabitants, about one-fifth of whom were African slaves, called the " black seed of Cain." Many of the laws for their govern- ment were most unjust and oppressive. Whenever three of ill i 11 Importing slaves Slaves burned or hanged in 1628 Population 10,000; now 7,000,000 100 YEARS AGO. NO. 1 BROADWAY IN 1822 -i] Slaves were flogged Slaves freed in 1758 Plans for Washington Hotel sent out from Lisbon, Spain A. them were found together, they were liable to be punished by forty lashes on the bare back, and the same penalty followed their walking with a club, outside of their masters' grounds, without a permit. In 1758 the abolition of slavery in New York was prac- tically accomplished by an act which declared that from that time forth all children born of slave parents should be free. In 1742 was built the house on the site of what was afterward known as No. 1 Broadway, which in 1872 was still standing and known as the "Washington Hotel," and the oldest house in the city. The site had previously been occupied by an old tavern kept by a Mrs. Kocks, built the century previous by her husband, Pieter Kocks, an officer in the Dutch service and an active leader in the Indian War of 1693. In the building of the Washington Hotel, neither pains nor expense was spared to make it one of the finest mansions in this country. The plans were all sent out from Lisbon, the exterior and the interior being similar in every respect to that of the British ambassador's residence at the Portuguese capital. The house was 56 feet on Broadway, and when erected the rear of the lot was washed by the North River. Greenwich Street was not then opened nor built. The banqueting room was 26 x 40, used on all great occasions. After the British forces captured New York in [22] debut the Revolution, as the most prominent house, it was the headquarters of the distinguished British Commanders. Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton and Sir Guy Carlton all in succession occupied this house; and Major Andre, then Adjutant-General of the British forces and aid to Sir Henry Clinton, resided in this house, being of the family of Sir Henry. The appointment of Admiral George Clinton to the government was very satisfactory to the colony, and he arrived in New York on Sept. 22, 1743. The General Governor Assembly was convened, and an appropriation was asked Clinton to rebuild the barracks and public offices, together with the rn j^ e ^* 1 * s house of the Governor, which had been destroyed by fire. The Assembly voted the Governor £1,500 for his salary, £100 for house rent, £400 for fuel and candles, £150 to enable him to visit the Indians and £800 for the purchase of presents to be distributed amongst them; and the Govern- or was so well pleased with the good temper of the Assembly that he signed every bill without a murmur. During Clinton's term of office of ten years, several public edifices had been erected, and various improvements had taken place in the city. The Presbyterian Church in Wall Street had been rebuilt; Thames Street w r as paved; Pearl Street was dug down near Peck Slip and graded from Franklin Square to Chatham Street. In 1747, the Common Council appropriated four pounds for the publication of fifty copies of "An Essay on the Duties of Vestrymen"! In 1752 the first merchants' exchange was erected at the foot of Broad Street. During 1761, the old plan of lighting the streets by lanterns suspended from the windows was definitely aban- doned, and public lamps and lampposts were erected in the principal streets, and lighted at the public expense. At an early period in New York, the mails, now of such vital importance, were a very insignificant affair. Since the American Revolution a saddle-bag boy on horse- back, without anv protection, carried the mail three times a [23I Mails were distributed by boys with saddlebags New York to Phila- delphia and return in 5 days People of New York rioted against tax stamps week between New York and Philadelphia. People won- dered at seeing the bags placed next upon a sulky; and were lost in amazement when a four-horse stage became necessary for the increasing load and bulk. One route ad- vertised a commodious "stage-boat " to start with goods and passengers from the City Hall slip (Coenties) twice a week for Perth Amboy ferry, and thence by stage-wagon to Cranberry and Burlington, from which point a stage- boat continued the line to Philadelphia. This trip generally required three days. These stage-boats were small sloops sailed by a single man and boy, and passing outside by the Narrows and through the Lower Bay, these small passenger vessels at times were driven out to sea, thus oftentimes causing vexatious delays. At the "Blazing Star" persons were notified that they might go "from New York to Phila- delphia and back in five days, remaining in Philadelphia two nights and one day, fare twenty shillings through. There will be two wagons and two drivers and four relays of horses. The passengers will load at Paulus Hook Ferry the night before, to start thence the next morning early." On March 22, 1763, the Stamp Act was passed and received the signature of the King. The people of New York were among the most bitter opponents of the Stamp Act. While the riots were going on in Boston, the act itself was reprinted and hawked about the streets of New York City as "the folly of England and ruin of America." Secret organizations styling themselves the "Sons of Liberty" met to discuss plans of resistance. On the arrival of the first cargo of stamps in the harbor, toward the end of October, placards were posted up in the streets and at the Merchants' Coffee House, of which the following is a copy: " Pro Patria "The first man that either distributes or makes " use of stampt paper, let him take care of his " house, person, and effects. - "Vox Populi. "WE DARE." [24] The old DeLancey homestead, just north of Trinity Church, had been converted into a public house, known variously as the " Province Arms," the "New York Arms," and also by the name of the proprietor, "Burns's Tavern" and "Burns's Coffee House. " The merchants met at this tavern to consummate the first blow struck at the trade and industry of Great Britain. Over two hundred signed the Non-Importation Agreement on October 31, 1765. The Sons of Liberty sang ballads as they wandered through the streets. The favorite was one of thirteen verses with a chorus, of which the following lines are a specimen: " With the beasts of the wood we will ramble for food, And lodge in wild deserts and caves, And live poor as Job on the skirts of the globe Before we'll submit to be slaves, Brave Boys, Before we'll submit to be slaves," etc., etc. The Lieutenant-Governor had the stamps conveyed for greater security to the Fort, and in great trepidation summoned the members of his Privy Council for their advice. On the 1st of November, the day appointed for the Stamp Act to go into operation, the popular indignation which had been so long smouldering burst forth. Early in the evening the Sons of Liberty, numbering several thousand, appeared before the Fort. On being refused, they proceeded to the open fields and, having erected a gibbet, they hanged the Lieutenant-Governor in effigy and suspended by his side a figure holding in its hand a boot, representing Lord Bute. The images after hanging some little time were taken down and carried in a torchlight procession to the gates of the Fort. Having in vain knocked on the gates for admission, the mob broke into the Lieutenant-Governor's carriage house, brought forth the family coach, placed inside it the two effigies, and, having again paraded them around the city, returned to within one hundred yards of the Fort gate and hanged the figures upon a second gallows erected for that purpose. A bonfire was then made out of the wooden fence Sons of Liberty object to tax stamps ORIGINAL TAMMANY HALL which at that time surrounded the Bowling Green, and the effigies together with the Lieutenant-Governor's coach, a single horse chair, two sleighs, and several light vehicles were cast into the flames and entirely consumed. While the flames were lighting up the black muzzles of the guns of the They called Fort, another party, having spiked the cannon on the Bat- the turn on tery, proceeded to the house of Major James, who had made Major himself obnoxious by having aided in putting the Fort in a James suitable posture for defence, and, having burned everything of value, they returned in triumph, bringing with them the colors of the Royal Artillery Regiment. In 1766, a committee from the Sons of Liberty, having ascertained that a certain merchant had sent to Philadelphia a Mediterranean pass and a bond on stamped paper, waited on the merchant and the naval officer who had given the pass, and conducted them to the Coffee House, before which a bonfire had been kindled, and obliged the merchant to commit the pass to the flames with his own hands. On the repeal of the Stamp Act, in 1766, the colonists were in a delirium of delight, and in New York Citv especially [26] the populace seemed wild with joy. Bells were ringing, a royal salute of twenty-one guns fired, and the city illumin- ated. On the 4th of June, the King's birthday, the Governor had an ox roasted whole, a hogshead of rum and twenty-five barrels of beer opened, and the people were invited to join the feast. On the same day a mast was erected, inscribed: "To his Most Gracious Majesty, George the Third, Mr. Pitt, and Liberty. " In 1767, for the better prevention of fires, an ordnance was passed directing that all the roofs in the city should be covered with slate or tiles. For some years tiles alone were used, the first building roofed with slate being, it is said, the City Hotel on Broadway on the block from Thames Street to Cedar, erected about 1794, which was the Astor House of that day, and for many years the most distinguished establishment of the kind in the country. It was the site of the "Kings Arms" Tavern of a hundred years previous, which was also, in its day, one of the most prominent points of interest in the "fashionables" of "old New York." "It is surprising," writes Peter Van Schaak to his brother Henry, under date of Jan. 27, 1769, "what trifles can be turned to the greatest advan- tage in elections and be made to captivate the passions of the vulgar. It was said during last election that T. Smith had said that the Irish were poor beggars and had come over here upon a bunch of straw. The whole body of Irishmen immediately joined, and appeared with straws in their hats." Another writes: "I arrived here St. Johns Day, when there was a grand procession of the whole masonic fraternity. * * * Will Smith and W. Livingston got an old rascally sermon called 'Masonry the Sure Guide to Hell,' reprinted and distributed it with great assiduity * * * and there is to-day an extraordinary lodge held on the occasion in order to consult means to resent the effront." 1 27] George III repealed the Stamp Act 1766 The Irish wore straws in their hats instead of shamrocks The hatred between the soldiers and the Sons of Liberty daily gained strength. The soldiers resolved to insult their enemies in the most tender spot. Accordingly, on Jan. 13, 1770, a portion of the 16th Regiment attempted to destroy the Liberty pole by sawing off its spars and blowing it up with gunpowder. A knot of citizens having gathered round while they were thus engaged, they desisted for the present from the attempt, and charging upon the group with fixed bayonets, drove them into a tavern (kept by Montagne) a favorite resort of the Sons of Liberty, broke the windows and demolished a portion of the furniture. Three days afterward, however, they succeeded in their design, and having cut the obnoxious symbol in pieces, they piled its fragments in front of Montagne's door. On the 5th of February another pole was erected inscribed "Liberty and Property," which remained until cut down in 1776 by the British soldiery at that time occupying the city. At this time one hundred of the Sons of Liberty purchased a house for £600 — each of them contributing £6 — in which to celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act, and having on the 19th of March drunk forty-five popular toasts, they pro- ceeded to the jail where Capt. McDougall was confined for being the author of a libelous handbill, saluted him with forty-five cheers and quietly dispersed. The Battle of Golden Hill (John Street between Gold and Cliff Streets) on the 18th of January, 1770, was the beginning of the war of the American Revolution. The storm had now been gathering for several years. The destruction of the Liberty pole increased the mutual exas- peration, and the fight that followed was but the natural consequence. To the CITY OF NEW YORK therefore New York mus t ever be given the honor of striking the first blow. The rlr^^low 6 massacre m King Street (the first street north of Wall at for liberty t ^ iat t ^ me ) two montns ^ ater added intensity to the flame, and although five years intervened before the demonstra- tion at Lexington, there were too many nervous pens and eloquent tongues in exercise to allow these feelings to sub- US 1 FRAUNCE'S TAVERN side or the noble spirit of Liberty that had been awakened to be quenched. Bolton's Tavern was located on the southeast corner of Broad and Pearl Streets. It was celebrated for fifty years as a place of resort, like our modern Delmonico's, and was still better known as Sam Fraunce's tavern. Here Washington bade farewell to his officers on Dec. 4, 1783. That historic scene is thus described by Colonel Tallmadge, one of his officers: "After partaking of a slight refreshment in almost breathless silence, the General filled his glass with wine, and turning to the officers, said: 'With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.'" The Coffee House stood on the southeast corner of Wall and Water Streets. The slip near it was known as Coffee House Slip at the foot of Wall Street. The meal or flour market was close by. The river then came up to Water Street. [*] George Washington bids farewell to his officers, 1783, at Fraunce's tavern Boston hadn't all the glory! We also had a tea party of our own A member of Washington's family while the President resided in New York spoke of St. Paul's Church as quite out of town, and of playing on a fine green common where the Park Theater stood. A writer of reminiscences of 1784 speaks of having often passed on skates from the "kolck" under the bridge at Broadway and Canal Street, and, pur- suing the outlet to the meadows, he would proceed over them to the north beyond Hudson Square. On the night of the 22d of February, 1774, the Sons of Liberty, following the example of their Boston neighbors and like them also disguised as Mohawks, threw over a cargo of tea brought by the "Nancy" into the waters of New York Bay. The Battle of Lexington had been followed by the Battle of Bunker Hill, the brave Montgomery was preparing to undertake his ill-fated expedition against Quebec, &c. Such was the condition of affairs when Wash- ington, on June 21, 1775, set out from Philadelphia for Boston with the purpose of taking in New York on his way. Washington arrived on the 25th and was escorted into the city by a Committee of the Provincial Congress, by whom he had been met at Newark, and having placed the city under the command of General Schuyler, he departed for Boston. The Provincial Congress regarded the guns in the Battery as a standing menace to the Patriot party, and wishing them for the defence of the Highlands, ordered their removal. Lamb, at the head of his Liberty boys, among whom was Alexander Hamilton, at once volunteered for this service, and in the face of the guns of the "Asia," which opened her batteries upon the party, succeeded in carrving away to a place of safety the whole of the pieces of cannon, twenty-one in number. This event at once brought things to a crisis, and the Governor (Tryon), alarmed for his per- sonal safety among an incensed populace, took refuge on board of the "Asia." On the 10th of July, 1776, when the news was received in the city of the Declaration of Independence, the enthu- siasm was universal, and almost all hastened to aid General [30] Putnam in fortifying the city. The principal fortifications were as follows: a grand battery of twenty-three guns was erected directly south of the Bowling Green; McDou- galPs battery of four guns stood on a little eminence to the west of Trinity Church; on the East River side were Coen- ties' battery, Waterbury's battery, Badlam's battery of eight guns near the Jewish burial ground on Chatham Street, and the Independent battery on a slight elevation on the corner of the present Grand and Center Streets. Breastworks were also erected at Peck, Beekman, Burling and Old slips; at the Coffee House, the Exchange, and in Broad Street. Ditches were cut across the island from the East to the North River, and at the same time strong forti- fications were thrown up on Governor's Island, Paulus Hook (Jersey City), Brooklyn Heights, and Long Island. Wash- ington soon established his headquarters in the city. On the night of the 20th of September, 1776, a terrific fire broke out, which was not subdued until one thousand houses, or about one-fourth of the city, was reduced to , n A , TL • 111 1 • ii« has its first ashes. 1 he. city numbered then about 30,000 inhabitants, serious fire The fire was first discovered in a low dram shop, and a few 1776 minutes afterward flames were seen to break forth from several other buildings lying in different directions. For some time previous the weather had been dry, and at the moment a brisk southerly wind prevailing, the buildings being of wood and covered with shingles, the flames soon caught the neighboring houses and spread with inconceiv- able rapidity. The fire swept up Broad and Beaver Streets to Broadway, and thence onward, consuming all that portion of the town lying on the North River, until the flames were stopped by the grounds of King's (Columbia) College at Mortkile Street, now Barclay. The next day a great many cartloads of pine sticks dipped in brimstone were found concealed in cellars of houses to which the incendiaries had not had time to set fire. "The rebels, ,, writes the Rev. Charles Inglis to the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, "carried off all the bells in [31] THE OLD SUGAR HOUSE IN LIBERTY STREET One could drive a team to Staten Island on the ice, or roast an ox on it. Both have been frequently done the city, partly to convert them into cannon and partly to prevent notice being given speedily of the destruction they meditated against the city by fire, when it began. Several rebels secreted themselves in the houses to execute the diabolical purpose of destroying the city." Among the numerous prison pens in the city during the Revolution were the old Sugar House, on the north side of Wall east of Broad, the North Dutch Church on William Street, corner of Fulton, and the Middle Dutch Church adjoining the Sugar House. In the North Dutch Church 800 prisoners were incarcerated without fuel or bedding during two of the coldest winters New York has ever known, when the river and bay between Cortlandt Street, New Jersey, and Staten Island were frozen over for forty days; when hundreds of people crossed daily on the ice, which was so thick that artillery was also conveyed across. Their provisions were scanty and of the poorest quality, and many died from cold and starvation. "We never," said one of the prisoners, "drew as much provisions for three days' allow- [3*1 ance as a man would eat at a common meal. * * * There was not a pane of glass in the windows and nothing to keep out the cold except the prison gates." The bones of unfor- tunate victims of British cruelty were collected after the Revolution and buried with proper funeral rites. While the American prisoners were thus languishing in prison, the British officers and their wives were passing their time in a round of gaiety and frivolity. The rich in the city at first strove to keep up their six courses and their profusion of fish, flesh, and fowl, but at length their resources failed. Many articles of food could no longer be obtained, and others were so dear as to exhaust the means of the wealthiest. A turkey was cheap at $4; good meat could seldom be procured, and vegetables were extravagantly dear. "Fifty dollars," says an eye-witness "would not feed a family for two days." Sir Henry Clinton entreated the farmers of the vicinity to bring in provisions, but in vain; nor was he more successful in the foraging parties he [33] A turkey at $4 led the market list sent out. At sight of the enemy the alarm was given, the farmers of Westport and Southport, of Elizabethtown and Rahway, hastily buried their corn and oats beneath the snow, and old family furniture was carried off at midnight and hidden in the depths of the forest. The British foraging parties, accordingly, found the barns empty, the cattle driven off, and the farmhouses deserted. In their rage, the foragers set fire to the old homesteads and desolated whole districts, thus increasing the general misery without accom- plishing the least good. The wealthy shivered in their splen- did apartments. In vain did Sir Henry Clinton issue proc- lamations to the farmers of Long Island to send in their wood; in vain did he dispatch foraging parties to cut down the forests on the large estates of the patroons of Long Island; the demand for fuel could not be supplied. Orders were given to cut down some of the trees in the "great avenue" — probably Wall Street. All the principal high- ways of the city were adorned at this period with luxuriant shade trees. A celebrated traveler who visited New York just previous to the arrival of Governor Tryon, wrote: " In the different streets there are trees planted, and I found it extremely pleasant to walk in the town, for it seemed quite like a garden. The trees which are planted for this purpose are chiefly of two kinds: the water beech is the most numerous and gives an agreeable shade in summer by its large and numerous leaves; the locust tree is likewise frequent. Its fine leaves and the odoriferous scent which exhales from its flowers make it very proper for being planted in the streets near the houses and the gardens. There are likewise lime trees and elms in these walks, but they are not by far so frequent as the others." The last of these trees in Wall Street was cut down in 1866; a portion of its trunk preserved as a sacred relic was to be seen in the old English chop-house on Thames Street, known as "Old Tom's." The taste for fashionable frivolity and display seems to have been the only thing unaffected by the privations of [34] KIPP'S BAY HOUSE that gloomy winter. In the midst of all this suffering and want, the city streets were filled with the fashions and luxuries of Europe. The ladies crowded William Street and the merchants spread out the most costly wares. Brocades and the best broadcloth of England were shown on the counters of William and Wall Streets. William Beekman had a downtown house located on the spot which was afterward the Journal of Commerce Building. The old road to the Fort from the ferry on the East River then at Peck Slip ran along the shore nearly to the foot of Wall Street, when it turned and passed the Beek- man house, which was probably erected with reference to this highway. In 171 2 a negro riot broke out near Hanover Square, and Adrian Beekman, rushing out of his residence to help quell the insurrection, was stabbed by a negro. As a result of this riot, nineteen slaves were executed. Within a stone's throw of the site of that building. Wall Street, with its fibers stretching out into every part of the civilized globe, controls the destinies of millions of human beings. Where the good Mrs. Beekman and her five daughters attended to their household duties in the old Dutch kitchen, a steam engine drove a printing press. Where they sat waiting for news from "home," by ships that were months in coming, editors sat and received in the afternoon the morning's news in England and Holland. [35] Negro stabs Beekman and nineteen of them are killed in reprisal George Washington was inaugu- rated President of the United States in 1789 in Wall Street At length a definite treaty of peace was entered into by the United States and Great Britain on the 3d of Sep- tember, 1783, and on the 25th of November of the same year — seven years from the time that the British had occu- pied New York in triumph — Washington entered the city at noon, at the same time that the British troops, having, as they supposed, prevented the immediate hoisting of the American colors by knocking off the cleats and greasing the flagstaff on Fort George — evacuated the city and sailed slowly down the Bay. But this defiance availed them little. New cleats were at once nailed to the pole, and before the British disappeared in the offing they heard the thunder of American cannon proclaiming, as the Stars and Stripes were run up, the downfall of British supremacy in America! In the Federal Hall in Wall Street on the 30th of April, 1789, Washington was inaugurated first President of the United States. [36]