The Story of Manhattan

The time came when the city of New York grew beyond the limits of the Island of Manhattan, though the island had seemed such a boundless tract of land, that it had been thought...

A dreary winter came and went, and just as the first signs of spring showed in the fields that closed about the fort, a ship sailed up the bay, bringing a stranger to the province.

It was a gay day for the little colony of New Amsterdam, that May morning in the year 1647, when a one-legged man landed at the lower part of the island, and stumped his way up...

In England there lived a man who had been a great friend of King William; who had been his friend even before he had become King. This man was Lord Bellomont. It was he who was...

The long and narrow Island of Manhattan was a wild and beautiful spot in the year 1609. In this year a little ship sailed up the bay below the island, took the river to the west...

For several years after the return of Hudson, Dutch merchants sent their ships to the Island of Manhattan, and each ship returned to Holland laden with costly furs which the Ind...

There was formed just about this time, in fact the very month after Washington's inauguration, an organization which was called the Tammany Society. And out of this society grew...

The winter passed, and when the spring came the British army moved from Philadelphia to New York City, but not without great trouble, for Washington's army fought them every ste...

The West India Company gave to this Governor absolute power over all the Dutch lands in America. His power was equal to that of a king; much more than some kings have had. To be...

Now this Walter Van Twiller was a relative of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, one of the patroons. You will see why the West India Company's choice of him for a Governor was not by any...

Everything was going along smoothly when all at once the yellow fever broke out on the west side, far downtown. It raged with even more violence than had the small-pox. Citizens...

The colonists were becoming more and more dissatisfied, not only in New York, but in all of the thirteen English colonies in America. For they strongly objected to the way in wh...

Edmund Andros was sent to govern New York for the Duke of York. The people complained a good deal because he acted as though he were a king with absolute power. They asked that...

Miles and miles above the little city of New York, on a road which led up through the Island of Manhattan, there was a stately house in a stretch of country and forest land over...

The new Governor arrived in the last months of the year 1708. He was John, Lord Lovelace. As there had been so much trouble caused by the governors appropriating money belonging...

On the fourth day after the battle of Harlem Heights the soldiers of England were making themselves comfortable in New York when a great fire broke out. It swept over the city a...

And now, early in the next spring, George Washington came again to New York, having at last forced the British troops from Boston. The city, which was under the control of the p...

So now the conquered province had come into the possession of the Duke of York, and Colonel Richard Nicolls, who was in command of the English soldiers, took charge. This first...

His early days were passed at the Court of William III., where he met people of refinement and culture. Of an observing nature, and studying a great deal, he came to be a man of...

A bit of rising ground, not a great way from the Common, was called Golden Hill. Here there was an inn. To this day the elevation of ground can be seen (where John Street crosse...

Sir Charles was not slow to see and to admit that while he was a good sailor, he did not make a good Governor, so after a year he resigned, and the province was once more left t...

Sir Edmund Andros, who, you will remember, had been appointed Governor of New England, had been knighted for obeying the King's commands. He now became Governor of the united pr...

On a crisp, cold day, late in the fall, a tall, mild-faced man on a spirited horse passed down the Bowery Road, followed by a long train of soldiers whose shabby clothes and wor...

There lived in New York at this time a man whose name was Samuel F.B. Morse. He was an artist and was interested in many branches of science. He had founded the National Academy...

In this year, 1743, Admiral George Clinton was sent by King George II. of England to take the place of George Clarke as Governor. Then Clarke packed up his riches and went to En...

This Henry Sloughter was not a good choice. He was a worthless man, who had travelled a great deal, and had spent other people's money whenever he could get it. Now, when he cou...

Cosby arrived; a testy, disagreeable man who loved money above everything else. The colonists received him with favor, because they did not know these things about him. The Asse...

On the morning after the night of rioting--dark and dreary day that was quite in keeping with the gloomy feelings of the people--Cadwallader Colden, the Lieutenant-Governor, dec...

It really seemed now as though some fairy wand had been turned toward New York. Blocks of houses of brick and stone sprang up, and buildings of every sort crept up the Island of...

In this month of June, in the year 1775, there were quite a number of British soldiers in the city, and many of the patriots believed that they should be made prisoners. But the...

The citizens were so far from being pleased when they learned that Rip Van Dam was not to act in the Governor's place, that, for a time, it looked very much as though there woul...

When Benjamin Fletcher became the next Governor of New York, in the month of August, 1692, the people gave a great public dinner in his honor, and there were expressions of deep...

Now that New York was the seat of the national government, the old City Hall in Wall Street was made larger and fitted up in grand style and was called Federal Hall.

There had come to be a great need for schools. There were private schools and there were school-rooms attached to some of the churches, but it was in this year, 1805, that the f...

It was in the year that Princess Anne became Queen of England (1702) that Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, eldest son of the Earl of Clarendon, was sent to govern New York. He was a...

It is interesting at this time to read how the streets came to be just where they are. The city was growing more rapidly than ever and the streets and byways met one another at...

The dawn of the nineteenth century saw 60,000 people in the city of New York and the town extending a mile up the island. Above the city were farms and orchards and the country...

Rebuilding a city and forming a new nation is such a great task that you can readily believe it was not accomplished without some difficulty. The colonies were free from the rul...

But the Assembly said that the Congress had not been a lawful gathering and must not be obeyed. The colonists replied that they would do as they thought best, no matter what the...

New Amsterdam, 1650--New York, East Side, 1746 The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson Earliest Picture of Manhattan Indians Trading for Furs Hall of the States-General of...

When the sun rose next morning (it was September 16th), the American army and the British army lay encamped each on a highland close beside one another separated by a valley.