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Sincere thanks to Frank
J. Dmuchowski
Chapter
One
The Discovery
One can only guess as to whether it was it’s high, pure white, sandy
bluffed, shoreline offering a lofty position overlooking the river
upstream from New Amsterdam, or it’s peninsular like shape, creased with
many creeks and tributaries that first attracted him to this finger of
land along the East River. Certainly, Captain Pieter Janse Wit, of the
Dutch West Indian Company saw great value in this tract of land.
Otherwise, why would he so ardently negotiate it’s purchase from the Keshaechqueren
Indians in 1638, and then proudly write to the Dutch Governor, Pieter
Stuyvestent, in 1660, “Fourteen Frenchmen with a Dutchman, Pieter Janse
Wit their interpreter, have arrived here” (Felter, pp.17) in his
petition to have this, and a larger parcel of land South and East declared
the Township of Boswijck. Later, this territory would be known as Bushwick
Township after the British took control from the Dutch.
Perhaps Captain Wit saw the tract for its possible military value. The
River on the West, Maspeth Kill ( later known as Newtown Creek) on the
North and East, and Norman's Creek (later known as Bushwick Creek) to the
South surrounding it on three sides,
and it’s great salt marsh, that on high tide became a small bay, did
give it a highly defensible position. This finger of land was dubbed by
ship navigators of the time as, Green Point. This was due to the high
bluff and green lushness of the point of land that grew out of the bank
and jutted a considerable distance into the river at approximately the
foot of present day Freeman Street. From here an attacking force coming
downstream could be readily observed and challenged before it reached New
Amsterdam proper. And, in the case of an attack on this position itself,
there weren’t very many places an enemy could easily, and
surreptitiously, storm it by either water or land.
Or, could it be, Captain Wit had seen something else! Could it be he saw a
place whose Jack Pine forest and meadows, and fresh water creeks would
provide a good life for his small band of explorer/settlers. Since a
military complex was never built there, although later it would play a
military role, and since Captain Wit latter settled there himself, One
must then conclude the latter. Captain Wit would come to play a important
role in providing leadership and direction to the emerging community of
settlers.
Thus, began the recorded history of Greenpoint. Of course, the European
explorers were not the first to see the beauty and abundance of this land.
The Indians, according to the accounts of Greenpoint’s earliest
settlers, extensively used this area to hunt and fish. It’s briny
marshes attracted an abundance of water fowl, pan fish and shell fish. And
, according to Indian tradition, a mighty, primeval, forest of pines, oaks
and aspens used to exist there, attracting deer and other game in
abundance. However, due to some act of nature, probably a lightening
storm, the mighty forest was replaced by bush-like Jack Pine and small
Oaks that populated the land when the European explorers first landed
there. In fact, for generations afterward, ancient Indian trails formed
the basis of the roads, such as they were, that separated the early
settlers of Green Point with the rest of the world.
The first Europeans to lay claim to this land were actually Huguenots. The
Huguenots were French in origin who, a generation earlier, fled to the
Netherlands in search of religious tolerance. However, the first to
actually take up residence in the area that eventually became known as
Green Point was not one of them. Instead it was the wily Dirck
Volchertsen, referred to locally as “Dirck The Norman” because of
his Scandinavian origin. He too apparently saw the great potential in this
land. Dirck was a seagoing man, a ship’s carpenter by trade, who sailed
from Scandinavia to the New World. Dirck was, also, well known in Governor
Stuyvestant’s court. Court minutes show his name as both plaintiff and
defendant in a number of proceedings. Although One would not have known at
the time how important it was to Dirck, his most important victory came in
1644 when he challenged a certain Jan de Pree to title of a parcel of land
in the Northern section of Boswijck Township. The Court ruled in his
favor, thus Dirck obtained for himself a portion of the land he favored. A
measure of Dirck’s personal interest in this land is evident by the fact
that he built the first house in Green Point only a year later in 1645,
and became its first recorded resident. Dirck built a one and one half
story Dutch
type farmhouse, typical of the period, overlooking the river on a spot
roughly at the present intersection of Calyer and Franklin Streets. The
creek which ran by his farmhouse and emptied into a great salt marsh to
the East, became known as Norman Creek. Norman Creek has since been filled
in, but the present day Norman Avenue still remains as a testament to
Dirck and his family. Although a seafaring man, after settling in Green
Point, Dirck gave up the sea to focus all his attention to agriculture. He
cleared the land, planted his crops and his orchards, and raised his sheep
and cattle to become a prosperous, well regarded, settler of the New
World. Here he remained until his death in 1718. Upon his death, Dirck’s
sons sold the land to seek out their own fortunes in the New World moving
further into other parts of Brooklyn and New Jersey. Dirck must have
imparted his pioneer vision and sense of leadership to his sons as it has
been said of them, “..wherever they went they became men of affairs and
influence”. (Felter, pp.19)
Captain Pieter Praa and other Huguenot families were not far behind old
Dirck in settling in this land. Captain Praa established himself in Green
Point, and, who like Dirck, gave himself over to an agricultural life. As
Captain Praa had a military background, he was able to use these skills by
playing an important leadership role in the new agricultural community
that sprung up at Green Point. The Praa family would be influential in the
affairs of Green Point for generations. It was here that Captain Praa and
his ancestors would, for nearly 200 years, find an idyllic life fitting
the name of Green Point.
The Praa’s and Volchertsen’s, together, with the Mesorole’s,
Calyer’s, Provoost’s, and Bennet’s formed the core of settler farmer
families that lived and flourished on the land consisting of Green Point.
They and their ancestors would do so for almost 200 years. The fertile
land provided enough to supply the needs of the families that toiled on
the land, and an abundant excess to trade at nearby markets. Each family
kept a large row boat on the river to transport their harvest to the
markets downstream in the emerging cities of Williamsburg and Brooklyn,
and across the river in New York. Thus, Green Point became a major
agricultural center and breadbasket for the area. It’s grains, cereals,
fruits, vegetables and livestock made it possible for others to take up
other trades in the New World, and contributed to the overall success of
the pioneer efforts of that era.
What did Green Point look like to those Dutch and French explorers? Figure
1, is a map of Green Point as it may have looked in 1638. The map is
based on descriptions and locations provided by William L. Felter in,
Historic Green Point , published by the Green Point Savings Bank in 1918
commemorating its 50th Anniversary. From the East River imagine standing
at the foot of present day East 23rd Street in Manhattan looking across
the river at the opposite shoreline. Now interpose a view of the North
Shore of Long Island around, for example, Northport or Port Jefferson,
with its high banked headland, and white sand beaches. If you then
launched a boat into the river, crossing it to enter the mouth of Newtown
Creek, known at the time as Maspeth Kill, and sailing East you would pass
by high banks until around the foot of present day Manhattan Avenue. From
here the banks diminished in height into a great salt marsh that extended
East and South toward Maspeth Creek to a point just south of the present
day Greenpoint Avenue bridge. The marsh, now filled in many years ago, was
known as the Back Meadows. Inland from its boundaries on the Kill, it
formed an irregular triangle whose apex was roughly at the intersection of
present day Driggs Avenue and Humbolt Street. Continuing our journey South
along Maspeth Kill, once passing Back Meadow, the bank rose again and
continued past the point of the old Penny Bridge, just south of the
present day Meeker Avenue and Kosciusko Bridge.
Now, let’s change course by turning around and going back up the Creek
to the river. Once on the river, let’s sail south along the high banks
of the shoreline towards New Amsterdam at the Southern tip of Manhattan
Island. Just South of the confluence of Maspeth Kill and the river, we
must be careful as not to run aground on Green Point. For as Felter wrote
in 1918, “Near where the foot of Freeman Street now lies, a point of
land jutted abruptly beyond the shoreline into the river for a
considerable distance.” (Felter, pp.14) This point of land, covered with
green grass, was a favorite landmark used by the sailors in those days to
safely navigate the river, which they dubbed, “Green Point”. Once
safely around Green Point, we continue South until we see what appears, on
high tide, to be a small bay extending inland for some distance East,
South East to a point that takes in all of the present day McCarren Park.
However, on low tide we would, instead, see the mouth of the channel of
Norman’s Kill, later known as Bushwick Kill that cut a path down the
middle of the sedge and marsh grass of the salt marsh. All that remains to
this day is what is known as Bushwick Inlet, a small inlet from the river
terminating at the intersections of Quay Street and Franklin Avenue.
During the course of our journey we would have noticed the crystal clear
water of the river and creeks and would have seen the abundance of both
finned and shell fish. More than likely we would have stopped somewhere to
enjoy a seafood shore lunch. Although originally used to describe the
point of land jutting out into the river, Green Point was to come to
describe the entire peninsular extending from Maspeth Kill (Newtown Creek)
to the North and East and Norman’s Kill (Bushwick Creek) to the south.
Continuing our journey, we sail into the mouth of Norman’s Kill and
follow its deep channel inland, through the salt marsh and into the woods,
until the channel narrows and becomes shallow. However, before we run out
of navigable water, we notice a small clearing on the creek’s bank and
land our boat at a spot approximately where present day Guernsey Street
and Driggs Avenue intersect. Now, on shore, and walking into the woods, we
would come upon one of the ancient Indian trails in the area. This trail,
heading East formed an upland bridge between the marshlands of Norman’s
Creek to the West and the Back Meadow in the East. The trail followed a
path roughly along present day Driggs Avenue to the intersection of where
Humbolt Street currently lies. Later the settlers would name the clearing
on the Kill, Wood Point Landing, and the path as Wood Point Road, Green
Point’s sole public highway until 1838. Walking East on the path, and
just before we reached the apex of the Back Meadow, we would come upon the
intersection of another path that ran from Southeast to Northwest toward
the confluence of the river and Maspeth Kill. Later this path would be
used by the settler farmers in the Northern end of Green Point as a farm
path, with gates in between the individual farms in order to reach Wood
Point Road, and points beyond. Later still, the path on its northern end
would become Green Point’s first business district, Franklin Avenue, and
the “main street” of the emerging village of Green Point. Upon
reaching this intersection, we would have nearly traversed the entire
circumference of Green Point.
It was in this environment that Dirck Volchertsen, Captain Pieter Praa,
and the Dutch settlers that followed, would build their homes, raise their
children, and begin the agricultural phase of Greenpoint’s history.
Chapter
Two
Agricultural Phase -
1645 to 1830
The Ground Breakers
The first European to settle in Green Point was Dirck Volckertsen, known
as Dirck the Norman. Dirck the Norman was a ship’s carpenter who came to
the New World from Scandinavia. He was granted a patent in 1645 by the
Dutch Governor as an outcome of the case, Jan de Pree vs. Dirck the
Norman. This patent included all the land between Maspeth Kill (Newtown
Creek), Bushwick Creek and the Back Meadow. Essentially, this patent
encompassed most of the entire area of present-day Greenpoint. A year
later in 1646, Dirck the Norman, built his house on a knoll near the
northern branch of Bushwick Creek, known in his day and long afterwards as
Norman’s Creek or Kill. According to Felter, Dirck’s house was west of
the present day intersection of Calyer and Franklin Streets (Felter, pp.
18). Armbruster tells us that Dirck’s house had a view of the river to
the west. Felter also tells us the site was carefully laid out with lawns
that “..sloped gently in front to Norman’s kill on the south, and
gradually to the East River on the west.”(Felter, pp.18)
Dirck built his house along the lines of the Dutch
style. Felter describes the house as constructed, “..of stone, one
and a half stories in height, with dormer windows... ” It also had,
“..old Dutch doors, studded with glass eyes, and brass knockers.” (Felter,
pp. 18). As was common for houses located outside the Stockade at New
Amsterdam, Dirck no doubt, had to fortify his house against occasional
Indian attacks. The Indians became hostile toward the European settlers as
a result of some unspecified crimes committed against them by William
Keith, a Dutch Governor. Although the Indian War (1631-1645) had ended,
there was still the danger of an occasional Indian raid. To defend
himself, Dirck’s house more than likely sported two gun holes in the
house’s wall, just under the porch. Thus, he and his family could fend
off an attack with their muskets safely behind the house’s stone wall.
As is the case with most of the North Shore of Long Island, Green
Point’s terrain and soil was affected by the retreating glaciers at the
end of the Ice Age. The terrain was hilly and moraine-like with no
shortage of glacial rocks. As any New England or Upstate New York farmer
will tell you, clearing this kind of land is very hard work. To prepare
this type of ground for planting, first the trees need to be cleared, an
arduous task in and of itself. Once the tress and stumps are cleared, then
the soil must be cleared of the rocks of all sizes deposited by the
retreat of the glaciers so the soil can be tilled for planting.
Fortunately, this process also provided an abundant source of building
material to construct houses and barns, and to fashion stone fences to
contain their horses and other farm animals. As was the custom of the
time, Dirck was a slave owner. He and other pre-Colonial and Colonial
families had slaves to help them in clearing and tilling the land. The
historical record indicates that these settler families were kindly in
their treatment of their slaves. So much so, that when slavery was
abolished in New York State in 1824, these slaves, now free, choose to
stay with the families of their former masters.
And so, for eight years Dirck and his household tended to and nurtured the
land of Green Point as its sole owner and inhabitant. In 1653, Dirck sold
the northern portion of his holding to Jacob Hay. He sold 65 acres of land
to Hay running along a line from the River at the north end of present day
Franklin Street, northeast to approximately the northwest corner of where
St. Anthony’s Church (Manhattan and Milton Street) now stands, then east
to the Back Meadow whose western border roughly ran along present day
McGuinness Blvd. The historical record seems to suggest that Hay himself
never established a farm nor lived in Green Point. However, the land was
inherited in 1693 by Christina Cappoens, whose mother was Maria Cappoens,
Jacob Hay’s widow who had remarried after Hay’s death. Christina
married, Captain Pieter Praa, a Captain in the Militia and of Huguenot
extraction. Shortly thereafter, they established a farm and built a house
on a site located near the edge of the Back Meadow near present day
Freeman Street and McGuinness Blvd. Pieter Praa played a significant role
in the early days of Green Point and the greater Bushwick Township as a
magistrate and an influential local and provincial politician. He was
described as a “..magnificent horseman and a genuine sportsman”.
(Felton, pp. 20).
Praa expanded his land holdings in 1687 when he purchased from Anneke Jan
Bogardus of New Amsterdam approximately 130 acres of land at the opposite
side of the mouth of the Maspeth Creek known in that day as Dominie’s
Hoek. Later it would come to be known as Hunter’s Point and then as Long
Island City. (Felter, pp. 22). The Praa’s also owned some 40,000 acres
of New Jersey, that was apparently purchased for speculation purposes.
Then in 1718, Praa purchased the remainder of Dirck the Norman’s land
from his sons.
In 1681, Joost Durie (George Duryea) settled the land south of the Back
Meadow and built his house near the foot of present day Meeker Avenue on
the banks of the then Maspeth Kill (today’s Newton Creek). This farm was
in a section of land whose ownership was disputed between Newtown and
Bushwick Township. Joost also built his house in the Dutch style. This
house was still standing in 1918! Felter included a photograph
in his book (Felter, pp.21). This house, known for a time as the Duryea
House, was refurbished in 1838 and was used as the toll house for the toll
bridge built by the Newton and Bushwick Turnpike Company, known as the
Penny Bridge. The toll was only a penny, hence its name. The Duryea family
lived and farmed here for more than a century.
South of the apex of the Back Meadow and Wood Point Road, Captain Pieter
Janse Wit settled and farmed the land. His farm included present day
Monsignor McGoldrick park, better known to Greenpointer’s by its
original name, Winthrop park.
These then, were the New World founders of Green Point. Their success at
taming and tilling the land ensured a firm foundation for the future of
Green Point. They were able to demonstrate that the land was not only
inhabitable, but that it also provided a hospitable and thriving
environment in which to live.
The Roots of Community Development
Large families was the custom of the times. As these first settler’s
families grew and thrived on the land, their children established families
and farmed Green Point as well. Pieter and Christina Praa had four
children, all daughters. To his dismay Captain Praa did not have any sons
to carry on the Praa name. However, through his daughter’s his numerous
progeny have taken prominent positions in Greenpoint’s history. On the
other hand Dirck and his wife had 10 children and several sons. However,
Dirck's influence in Green Point would not survive much beyond his own
life. Captain Praa died in 1740 as the owner of most of modern day
Greenpoint. For 56 years, Captain Praa made Green Point his home inspite
of land holdings elsewhere. Here he prepared the way for his children and
grandchildren to continue his devotion to his beloved Green Point. By the
time of the Revolutionary war (1775-1783), the entire population of Green
Point consisted of five families: Abraham Meserole, son of Jan Meserole
(who was married to one on Pieter Praa’s daughter’s , hence a grandson
of Pieter Praa), and his family lived on the banks of the East River
between the present day India and Java Streets; another son of Jan
Meserole and grandson of Pieter Praa, Jacob Meserole and his family farmed
the entire south end of Green Point and built a house near the Bushwick
Creek meadows between present day Manhattan Avenue and Lorimer Street near
Norman Avenue; Jacob Bennett, his wife Annetti (a daughter of Pieter Praa)
and their family farmed the land in the northerly portion of Green Point
and built their house near present day Clay Street roughly between present
day Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street; Jonathan Provoost, his wife
Christina (also a daughter of Pieter Praa) and their family farmed the
eastern portion of Green Point, and lived in the house built by Pieter
Praa near the Back Meadow; finally, Jacobus Calyer and his wife Janitie, a
daughter of Jan Meserole and granddaughter to Pieter Praa and their family
farmed the western portion of Green Point, and lived in the house built by
Dirck the Norman near the mouth of Bushwick Creek. These families formed
the nucleus, and set the nature and character of the community and society
that would come to flourish at Green Point
These families lived in relative seclusion from the rest of the world.
Partly due to Green Point’s topographical and geographical aspects, the
earliest Greenpointer’s were highly independent and self-sufficient.
Since there was only one road, no market, store, church, or school, their
contact with others was confined to occasional trips to these places out
of necessity. The only public road in Green Point until 1838 was the Wood
Point Road. The Wood Point Road, which followed an ancient Indian path,
ran from Bushwick Landing located on Bushwick Kill near the present day
intersection of Guernsey Street and Driggs Avenue on the west, and ran
east approximately along the course of present day Driggs Avenue to the
western edge of the Back Meadow near the present day intersection of
Humbolt Street and Driggs Avenue. The only other means of communication
with and among the farm families was to travel the farm paths that were
formed among the farms. There was, however, a central farm lane that
served as the main north to south passageway through Green Point. It too,
followed the path of an ancient Indian trail. This path started in the
north at a point just west of present day Freeman Street (near present day
Manhattan Avenue). From there it meandered southeast to about the corner
of present day Greenpoint Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard. Then, it
roughly followed the edge of the Back Meadow along the course of present
day McGuinness Boulevard to intersect with Wood Point and Bushwick Roads
at present day Humbolt Street. This was an arduous trek that required One
to open and close several gates of the fences that separated the farms.
The closest church and store was located at Bushwick Village (approx.
corner of present day Humbolt Street and Grand Avenue). To get there, One
would have to travel to the Wood Point Road, then to and down the Bushwick
Road that ran south through Bushwick Township. Therefore, under these
conditions the folks at Green Point had to develop a strong
interdependence to supply their immediate needs.
A ferry service between Greenpoint and New York was established at the
Wood Point Landing in 1790. Before this, and unless you had your own boat
on the river, the only way to get to New York was to travel down to Bushwick
Shore (later in 1827 to become the city of Williamsburg) to take the
ferry that was established there in the 1660’s. The Wood Point Road
connected with the Bushwick Road that ran south following approximately
the path of present day Humbolt Street to Bushwick Village. From here, it
continued south over the hills through the Bushwick Crossroads (approx.
corner of Bushwick and Flushing Avenues) and then west to Bedford Corners
(approx. corner of Bedford and Flushing Avenues) where it joined with the
Jamaica Turnpike leading to the riverfront. Fortunately, the Green Point
families did not have to make this tedious journey. The families kept long
boats and sail boats on the East River shore in order to make the trip to
the New York markets where they would trade the grains, meats and
vegetables they produced. This too, contributed to Green Point’s
isolation, as there was very little need to travel to other areas of Long
Island where communities such as Bushwick Village, Bushwick Shore and the
City of Brooklyn were developing. However, Green Point was not totally
isolated. Politically Green Point was part of Bushwick Township, so this
required someone to represent Green Point’s interests in the affairs of
the Township, and to travel to Bushwick Corners from time to time to
attend Township meetings. Therefore, its geographical remoteness and
inaccessibility allowed the families of Green Point to remain aloof and
removed until the 1840’s. As a consequence, very little historical
information about Greenpoint's earliest history is available other than
the chronicles, journals, and diaries of the five descendant families of
Captain Pieter Praa. Much of Felter's account of this period of
Greenpoint's history was derived from these documents, and the oral
history of the remaining decendent family members in 1918.
The Revolutionary War
Green Point as well as much of Long Island was the possession of the
British throughout the Revolutionary War. As a result, whether real or
feigned, it was expedient for the families of Green Point to remain loyal
to the King. However, apparently there were some who may have had other
notions. The record shows that John Meserole, son of Abraham Meserole,
appears to have come under British suspicion as a revolutionary. This
resulted in his being taken and imprisoned in a New York jail. Without any
doubt, the British Army saw the strategic military advantages that Green
Point’s topography and geography afforded. This is evident by the fact
that British troops were encamped in Green Point during the war. However,
it appears the relationship between the troops and the Green Point
families was less than favorable. For Felter tells us, “Tradition
reports that all the families suffered severely from the depredations of
the British soldiers and their camp followers.” (Felter, pp.27) When the
war was over, Green Point returned to it’s well ordered, secluded farm
life well into more than a third of the ensuing century. In 1838 the first
public highway was opened in Green Point that connected it with bridges
across Newton and Bushwick Creek’s to the cities of Astoria to the
North, and Williamsburg the South. This made it possible for the isolated
little farming community to develop into a small town.
Chapter Three
Farm to Town - 1832 to 1855
From the first European settler house built
by Dirck Volckertsen in 1645 to 1840, Green Point was a collection of
farms devoted to agriculture. For two hundred years, first as part of a
Dutch, then British colony, and finally the State of New York, Green Point
was able to exist in relative isolation. However, two events inexorably
and forever changed its course through history. The first was the
completion of the first public road through Green Point the second was the
coming of the shipbuilding trade. In this chapter we will look at these
and other formative events that contributed to Green Point’s
transformation from an idyllic agricultural community into a thriving
bustling town. Both of these developments can be greatly attributed to the
vision and tenacity of one man, Neziah
Bliss.
Since the events leading to Green Point’s
transformation are intertwined with those going on at the same time in
other parts of Long Island and New York, we will pull the camera of
inspection up high in order to obtain a more panoramic view of the
historical landscape. Let’s start by focusing on what was going on to
the west and across the river, in Manhattan.
By the turn of the nineteenth century, New
York City, on Manhattan Island, had grown into the largest and most
productive commercial and manufacturing center in the fledgling United
States. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing. Each year, its
success attracted thousands of new, mostly European immigrants seeking
fortune and the good life. And with each year, the number was growing.
Land for development was already scarce and expensive. It was evident to
merchants and bankers that if this commercial success were to sustain
itself and grow, more nearby land would be needed to build new factories
and to house its workers. Many eyes turned east to Long Island.
Long Island contained a vast store of
natural resources allowing for easy development. By the early 1800’s
most of the suitable land of present-day Brooklyn and Queens was already
under plow and cultivation. Further east on the island, additional
farmland was continuing to be brought under production. In addition, the
growth and advancement of the shipping and transportation industry made
the greater New York area less dependent on local agriculture.
Agricultural goods could easily be shipped to New York markets from the
surrounding states. Thus, the farmland on Long Island’s immediate
western edge was no longer critical to sustain life. The time had come to
form a new vision of what this land could be used for.
City and town development was already
taking place in western Long Island. The City of Brooklyn, incorporated in
1834 was already the nation’s second largest city, second only to New
York City itself. It too was experiencing great commercial success and
phenomenal growth. To Green Point’s immediate south, the City of
Williamsburg, incorporated in 1836 was taking shape. To the immediate
north, the City of Astoria was developing as well. As we will see these
developments in particular had the most profound effect on Green Point.
The shipping and transportation industry
was highly dependent on the waterways to move goods locally, as well as,
for import/export. In addition, the United States military was developing
its Navy into superpower proportions. There was a great need to build more
ships and other maritime vessels. Caught up in this nexus of time and
events, it was time for the sleepy little farming community to be startled
and awakened to a new era. Neziah Bliss, visionary, inventor, shipbuilder,
industrialist, gave Green Point its wakeup call.
Born in Hebron, Connecticut in 1790, Bliss,
due to some set of circumstances early in life became a self-supporting,
highly responsible and creative individual. He had a highly developed
sense of initiative, resourcefulness, and vision for a young man. For the
most part, he was a self-educated man who sought out the acquaintances of
like-minded men. This led him to leave Connecticut around 1810 and head
for New York where he could easily find many like-minded men. Here he met
Robert Fulton whose work with steam engines as a means of propulsion, was
making steam navigation a reality. Bliss caught Fulton’s vision, and
along with his own resourcefulness led him to become a successful
manufacturer of steam engines and steamboats.
In 1811, only a year after working with
Fulton, Bliss organized a company in Philadelphia with Daniel French and
built a steamboat. Quickly, he became a well known and sought out expert
in the steam engine and steamboat building industry. This led him to
Cincinnati in 1816. There with the backing of then General, soon to be
President, William Henry Harrison, he continued his experiments with this
technology and built a steamboat that plied the Mississippi River for many
years. Through his travels in the west, Bliss continued to gain knowledge
and skills in obtaining and using natural resources, in particular, iron
and steel.
Bliss returned to New York in 1827. It was
then that he capitalized on his vast and seasoned knowledge and skills by
establishing the Novelty Iron Works at the foot of East 12th
Street in Manhattan. His company became famous for its maritime engines.
Most of the vessels built in the New York area had Novelty engines
installed.
As a man of vision and a shrewd
businessman, Bliss saw the need to encourage more shipbuilding. After all,
the more ships built the more the need for his engines. It is no doubt,
that the high banks of Green Point caught his imagination, as it had
others before him. The slope of the banks and the white sandy beach made
it perfect in Bliss’ eye for building boats. So, in 1832 Bliss and Dr.
Eliphalet Nott, the then famous president of Union College, purchased 30
acres of riverfront land from John Meserole. A year later they purchased
the Griffen farm. Apparently, Bliss found his eye on more than land during
these transactions. Bliss married, Mary A. Meserole, the daughter of John
A. Meserole. Thus by marriage, Bliss was incorporated into the five
interrelated families of Green Point. Bliss continued to consolidate his
Green Point land holdings by eventually purchasing all of the remaining
land of the five families. He also purchased land across the Newtown Creek
in what is present day Long Island City.
In 1834, Bliss’ plan finally took a more
formal shape. At his own expense, he had all of the land consisting of
Green Point surveyed and laid out into streets and lots so that it would
properly connect to the adjoining towns of Williamsburg, Bushwick and
Hunters Point. Thus Green Point made its transition from farm community,
to village, to town. Bliss’s vision of shipbuilding on the Green
Point’s riverfront, required workers, and workers need to live nearby.
Shipbuilders also needed other supporting trades and suppliers, and they
in turn needed a place to set up shop. A town was needed, and Bliss
provided it. Thus the town of Green Point was conceived and developed to
support a shipbuilding industry on its shores.
However, because of the topological
features that kept Green Point isolated for so long, Bliss knew that
unless something was done to overcome its natural barriers Green Point
would not be able to come to fruition. His first step was to build a foot
bridge across Bushwick Creek in 1838 roughly at the intersection of
present day West Street, Kent Avenue and Quay Street. This provided a
connection between Green Point and its neighbor, Willamsburg. This also
set the stage for the Ravenswood, Green Point, and Hallett’s Cove
turnpike that opened for traffic in 1839, and that was promoted heavily by
Bliss. This turnpike followed roughly the line of present day Franklin
Street, and provided a road for raw materials and goods to come in and out
of Green Point. It was around 1840 that Bliss’ vision bore fruit and the
first skeletons of boats began to appear on the Green Point riverbanks.
Shipbuilding had come to Green Point. So too came houses, shops, streets,
churches and schools, and, of course, the people to build and inhabit
them. Bliss too apparently liked what was going on here. He built a home
in Green Point for him and his family, and became known as Neziah Bliss of
Green Point.
Since his foundry was across the river, as
were many other suppliers and tradesmen needed to build Green Point,
dependable ferry operations between Green Point and Manhattan was needed.
Even as late as 1850, skiffs were used to cross the river. Several skiffs
manned by their owners maintained a service between Greenpoint and the
foot of East 10th Street. However, these skiffs and their
owners were somewhat unreliable. From day to day, riders would not know
how much they would be charged or where they would be let off once on the
Green Point shore. So, in about 1850, Bliss obtained a permit from New
York City to begin regular, dependable ferry operations from the foot of
Greenpoint Ave first to the East 10th Street, and then an East
23rd Street landing.
Apparently not content with building
Greenpoint, Bliss acquired land across Newton Creek and formed the town of
Blissville. He also built the first version of what was to be known for
many years as the Blissville Bridge. Today we know it as the Greenpoint
Avenue Bridge. Blissville, now part of Long Island City, was on the now
Queens side of the Greenpoint Avenue bridge. In addition, Bliss was very
much involved with Williamsburg and the town of Bushwick in general.
Bliss was a very influential leader and
community builder of his day. He apparently played a very significant role
as a founding father in shaping Greenpoint into what it is today. However,
sad to say there are no monuments or plaques in Greenpoint denoting his
great contributions.
TRANSPORTATION
Others too made their contributions to
establishing the fledgling town. An Englishman by the name of New (first
name unknown at this time) started a stagecoach line along the turnpike
that Bliss help establish. It ran from the Williamsburg ferries at the
foot of present day Grand Street through Franklin Street to what was known
as Poppies Tavern near to corner of present day Green Street. However,
this was not his greatest contribution. Ironically enough, his greatest
contribution also put him out of business. In 1855 the City Railroad
Company, a precursor to the New York City Transit Authority, ran its cars
through Williamsburg up to the bridge over Bushwick Creek built by Bliss.
It was because of Mr. New’s persistent coaxing that the tracks were
extended over the bridge and eventually all the way up Franklin Avenue.
Once the train service was available, no one wanted to take the
stagecoach. Thus leading to the demise of Mr. New’s stagecoach line.
COMMERCE
In order to meet the need for docking
facilities, David Provost – a descendant of Pieter Praa - built the
first private commercial dock. It was built on property he owned at the
foot of present day Freeman Street. He expanded his operations by
establishing the first material and supply yard for building materials.
In 1850 David Swalm opened the first
general store on the West Side of Franklin Street near Green Street. Not
only did it provide goods for sale; it also became a center of social life
in the neighborhood and center of politics and literature. Around the same
time, Lucian Brown, who married Neziah Bliss’ daughter, Magdalen, opened
a hardware store near the corner of Franklin Street and Greenpoint Avenue.
In 1847, Dr. Isaac K. Snell, became Green Point’s first physician and
druggist. Andrew J. Provost and his brothers Perry, Chauncey and Timothy,
sons of David Provost opened Green Point’s first legal firm. Dr. William
Starr was the first dentist to put up his shingle.
THE ARTS
Green Point also attracted two renowned
artists to its shores. George Innis and Albert Ralph Blakelock set up
their studios in Green Point in the late 1840’s and early 1850’s. Some
of Innis’ greatest works were produced at his Green Point studio.
EDUCATION
Education and schools also came to Green
Point. Its first teacher was a Mrs. Masquerier. She taught twenty to
thirty children at her home, without pay, until the first formal school
was built in 18??. The first formal public school came about chiefly due
to the efforts of Martin Kalbfleisch. When Kalbfleisch moved to Green
Point from Connecticut in 1842, he apparently did not find the existing
school acceptable. Apparently, he had a large family of children so he
immediately began an effort that led to the building of the first formal
schoolhouse on Manhattan Avenue between Java and Kent Streets. The first
principal was Benjamin R. Davis. This school was the forerunner to P.S.
22. Before Green Point was merged with the City of Brooklyn in 1855, it
had 4 well-equipped and staffed public school houses. In his
"Historic Green Point", (Felter, pg. 43) published in 1918, Dr.
Felter stated, "These schools and their successors to-day are among
the best of the city." Echoing Dr. Felter in 1998, Greenpoint’s
schools continue to be among the best schools in all of New York City.
RELIGION
Green Point’s first organized church was
the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Green Point. It was establish
built in the winter of 1847-48 on Union (present day Manhattan Avenue)
between India and Java Streets. However, it was preceded by a Sunday
school that was organized by and met in the home of Clark Tiebout located
on Franklin Street. Mr. William Vernon was the superintendent. The first
Catholic parish, St. Anthony of Padua was established in 1856. The Rev.
John Brady was its first pastor.
POLITICS
From its first settlement, Green Point was
part of the Bushwick Township. Starting with Peiter Praa, Green Point was
always represented on the Town Board. In 1851 Martin Kalbfleisch, who was
instrumental in establishing the first public school in Green Point, was
elected to the Board. To the south, the City of Brooklyn was incorporated
in 1834. It shortly consolidated with the city of Williamsburg.
Kalbfleisch was involved in drafting the charter for the consolidation of
cities of Williamsburg and Brooklyn with their outlying towns, including
Bushwick (Green Point included) and was elected its Mayor in 1861. After
Green Point became the 17th Ward of the City of Brooklyn, H.
Bartlett Fenton became its first supervisor.
For better or worse due to the coming of
roads, ferries and railroads, Greenpoint was no longer able to remain
isolated from the world. After almost two hundred years as an idyllic
agricultural community, Greenpoint made a relatively swift transition into
village, town and, finally, part of one of the most thriving and
successful cities the world has ever known. Its transition into a town
brought about by the vision of Neziah Bliss allowed Green Point to take
its place, and play an integral role in the growth and history of the
nation. It became a place of industry, and provided homes and a community
for people of various ethnic and cultural heritages. In a forthcoming
chapter we will trace the ethnic history of Greenpoint and the
contributions that each ethnic group made to the "persona" that
was, and still is, Greenpoint.
Bibliography
Armbruster, Eugene L., Brooklyn’s
Eastern district , Brooklyn, N.Y., 1942
Felter, William L., Historic Green Point , Brooklyn, N.Y., 1918,
Green Point Savings Bank
Welch, Richard, F. An island's trade : nineteenth-century shipbuilding
on Long Island, Mystic, Conn. : Mystic Seaport Museum, 1993.
©Copyright Frank
J. Dmuchowski, 1996-98, All Rights Reserved
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