42 chapters
3 hour read
Selected Chapters
42 chapters
PREFACE
PREFACE
Here the history of New York City is told as a story, in few words. The effort has been to make it accurate and interesting. The illustrations are largely from old prints and wood engravings. Few dates are used. Instead, a Table of Events has been added which can readily be referred to. The Index to Chapters also gives the years in which the story of each chapter occurs. LIST of ILLUSTRATIONS CHAPTER I. The Adventures of Henry Hudson. From 1609 to 1612 CHAPTER II. The First Traders on the Island
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE ADVENTURES of HENRY HUDSON
THE ADVENTURES of HENRY HUDSON
HE 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, and went on. In these days there were no tall houses with white walls glistening in the sunlight, no church-spires, no noisy hum of running trains, no smoke to blot out the blue sky. None of these things. But in their place were beautiful trees with spreading branches, stretches of sand-hills, and green patches of grass.
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE FIRST TRADERS on the ISLAND
THE FIRST TRADERS on the ISLAND
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 Indians had traded for glass beads and strips of gay cloth. The Indians cared a great deal more for glittering glass and highly colored rags than they did for furs. One trader above all others whose name should be remembered, was Adrian Block. He came in a ship called the Tiger. This ship was anchored in the bay close by wha
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PETER MINUIT, FIRST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
PETER MINUIT, FIRST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
Peter Minuit was a large man, of middle age, whose hair was turning gray, whose eyes were black and dull, and whose manners were quite coarse. 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 sure, in matters of extreme importance he was supposed to refer to the Company in Holland. But Holland was far away, farther away than it is in these days of fast steamers and the
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WALTER VAN TWILLER, SECOND of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
WALTER VAN TWILLER, SECOND of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
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 means a wise choice. For he was soon doing exactly what Minuit had done. The only difference was that Governor Van Twiller favored Van Rensselaer more than he did the other patroons. Van Twiller was a stout, round-bodied man, with a face much the shape of a full moon. He was a sharp trader, having made two voyages to the
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WILLIAM KIEFT and the WAR with the INDIANS
WILLIAM KIEFT and the WAR with the INDIANS
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. This was William Kieft, the new Governor of New Netherland. He was a blustering man, who became very angry when anyone disagreed with him, and who very soon was known as "William the Testy." He made no effort to make the Indians his friends, and the result was that much of his rule of ten years was a term of bloody wa
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PETER STUYVESANT, the LAST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
PETER STUYVESANT, the LAST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
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 the path that led to the fort. Not only everyone that lived in the town gathered there, but everyone on the island, and many from more distant parts. There were Indians, too, who walked sedately, their quiet serenity in strange contrast to the colonists, who yelled and shouted for joy, and clapped their hands at every sal
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
NEW YORK under the ENGLISH and the DUTCH
NEW YORK under the ENGLISH and the DUTCH
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 English Governor appeared anxious to make all the people his friends. He made Thomas Willett Mayor, and Willett being very popular, all the citizens rejoiced, and said the new Governor was a fine man. During three years Colonel Nicolls humored the people so much that they were well satisfied. At the end of that time he ha
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
SOMETHING about the BOLTING ACT
SOMETHING about the BOLTING ACT
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 they have some voice in the direction of their affairs. They got up a petition and sent it to the Duke in England. "What do the people want?" said the Duke. "If they are not satisfied, they can always appeal to me." He did not see that they had just appealed to him, and in vain. Captain Manning, who had been in charge of
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE STIRRING TIMES of JACOB LEISLER
THE STIRRING TIMES of JACOB LEISLER
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 provinces. He made his home in Boston, and left the care of New York to his deputy, Francis Nicholson. In this year a son was born to the English King, and the people rejoiced. But these were stormy times in England, for King James II. was a tyrant who ordered a great many of his subjects killed when they refused to believe
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE SAD END of JACOB LEISLER
THE SAD END of JACOB LEISLER
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 could find no one in England to supply him with money, he took the post of Governor of New York, and his only thought was how much money he could wring from the people. The enemies of Leisler rejoiced at his coming, for they knew that it meant the downfall of Leisler. Sloughter sailed for New York with a body of soldiers, bu
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
GOVERNOR FLETCHER and the PRIVATEERS
GOVERNOR FLETCHER and the PRIVATEERS
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 joy that so wise and good and pious a man had been sent to rule over them. But Governor Fletcher soon came to be disliked. He tried by every means to enrich himself at the public expense. More than that, he wished to make the Church of England the only church of the province, and to have the English language the only lan
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CONTAINING the TRUE LIFE of CAPTAIN KIDD
CONTAINING the TRUE LIFE of CAPTAIN KIDD
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 chosen Governor in the year 1696. But it was two years after this that he reached New York. During these two years he worked hard in the interests of the province. He knew all about the pirates, and knew that it would take a strong force to subdue them. He called upon the English Government to fit out men for this purpose
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
LORD CORNBURY makes HIMSELF very UNPOPULAR
LORD CORNBURY makes HIMSELF very UNPOPULAR
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 cousin of the Queen, and left England to escape the demands of those to whom he owed money. When Lord Cornbury arrived in New York, the Mayor, with much ceremony, presented him with a box of gold, containing the freedom of the city, which gave to him every privilege. It was a great deal of trouble and expense to go to, fo
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
LORD LOVELACE and ROBERT HUNTER
LORD LOVELACE and ROBERT HUNTER
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 to the citizens, he decided to take a very different course. He had the public accounts looked into, and said, "I wish it known to all the world that the public debt has not been contracted in my time." And having said this (which made a fine impression) the Governor asked the Assembly to set aside enough money for him t
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
GOVERNOR BURNET and the FRENCH TRADERS
GOVERNOR BURNET and the FRENCH TRADERS
Governor William Burnet was the son of a celebrated bishop of England. 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 deep learning, a good talker, with manners that attracted attention wherever he went—so fine were they. The city was gayly decorated in honor of his coming. Women looked from their windows and waved their handkerchiefs. Men crowded the streets and lou
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE TRIAL of ZENGER, the PRINTER
THE TRIAL of ZENGER, the PRINTER
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 Assembly granted him a revenue for six years, and gave him a present of £750 besides. The Governor thought this a very small sum and said so. He presented an order from the King which said that he was to have half the salary that Rip Van Dam had received for acting as Governor. But Van Dam would not part with his money, and t
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CONCERNING the NEGRO PLOT
CONCERNING the NEGRO PLOT
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 would be a riot. There was a member of the Assembly named George Clarke, and when his fellow-members chose him for the place that Rip Van Dam should have had, there was more grumbling. But as no Governor came from England for seven years, Clarke looked after the province all that time. He was an easy-going man, who tried by e
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE TRAGIC DEATH of SIR DANVERS OSBORNE
THE TRAGIC DEATH of SIR DANVERS OSBORNE
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 England and enjoyed the rest of his life far from the little colony that he had governed so much to his own profit. Admiral Clinton was the son of an English earl. When he had been Governor not yet a year, there came a man whose influence was soon felt. He was Commodore Peter Warren, of the British Navy, who in later years
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE BEGINNING of DISCONTENT
THE BEGINNING of DISCONTENT
Two years James De Lancey acted as Governor, and the citizens were really sorry when Admiral Sir Charles Hardy was sent to take his place. 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 to the care of De Lancey. At this time there was much being said about the need for schools, and for many years plans had been under way for building a college in the city. Money had be
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE STORY of the STAMP ACT
THE STORY of the STAMP ACT
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 which money was being taken from them in the form of taxes. The English had spent much money in the wars which led up to the conquest of Canada, and thought that it should be returned to them. So they taxed the colonists in every possible way. Protest was made against these taxes, but in vain. Matters became worse and worse
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE BEGINNING of REVOLUTION
THE BEGINNING of REVOLUTION
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, decided that he would do away with the stamps that had caused so much trouble. So he had them delivered to the Mayor, who was in accord with the citizens, and the Mayor put them in the City Hall amid many cheers. A few days after this Sir Henry Moore (who had been appointed Governor of the province) arrived from England, and i
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FIGHTING the TAX on TEA
FIGHTING the TAX on TEA
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 crosses William), and the inn still stands. While the thought of the wrecked liberty pole was still fresh in mind, some of the Sons of Liberty came suddenly upon a number of soldiers close by this inn. There was a running fight, the soldiers using their guns and cutlasses and the others beating them back with staves and sticks.
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE SONS of LIBERTY at TURTLE BAY
THE SONS of LIBERTY at TURTLE BAY
Now in New York almost everybody was anxious to carry out the decision of this First Continental Congress. 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 King's Assembly ordered. You must know that some of the people supported the royal cause and were called Royalists or Tories. The others were called Patriots or Whigs. The English called the patriots rebels. It had
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE WAR of the REVOLUTION
THE WAR of the REVOLUTION
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 Provisional Assembly decreed that the orders of the Second Continental Congress must be obeyed. And these orders were not to molest the soldiers as long as they did not try to build fortifications or remove powder and guns from the city. But early in this month of June it was learned that the soldiers were about to go to
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A BATTLE on LONG ISLAND
A BATTLE on LONG ISLAND
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 patriots, was in a state of excitement, as it seemed probable that this was to be the next point of attack. Every person who favored the cause of the King, or who was suspected of favoring it, was looked upon with distrust. One-third of the citizens had fled. The soldiers of the Continental army were arriving daily. Women
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE BRITISH OCCUPY NEW YORK
THE BRITISH OCCUPY NEW YORK
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 overlooking the Hudson River. This was the house of Charles Ward Apthorpe and was known as the Apthorpe mansion. Here General Washington went after the retreat from Long Island, to devise a plan for the battles that were to come. The city was well fortified, but Washington understood full well that it could not be held long a
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE BATTLE of HARLEM HEIGHTS
THE BATTLE of HARLEM HEIGHTS
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. The ground occupied by the British soldiers was then Vandewater Heights. Much of this high ground still remains and is now called Columbia Heights, and Columbia University and Grant's Tomb are upon it. The American forces were scattered over what was then Harlem Heights, as far as Washington's head-quarters in the country m
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE BRITISH FAIL to SWEEP EVERYTHING BEFORE THEM
THE BRITISH FAIL to SWEEP EVERYTHING BEFORE THEM
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 and 500 houses crumbled and fell in ashes before it was controlled. Almost the entire western part of the city was consumed, St. Paul's Chapel being the only building of importance that was saved. Almost all who favored the American cause had fled. But a few remained, and there was a hint that these had started the fire. T
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
NEW YORK a PRISON-HOUSE
NEW YORK a PRISON-HOUSE
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 step of the way across New Jersey. The city was now quite different from the flourishing town it had been before the war. Held possession of by the British, it was a military camp. No improvements were made. Many of the citizens who were loyal to the American cause had fled. Those who were too poor to leave pretended to favo
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
AFTER the WAR
AFTER the WAR
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 worn faces told of days of trial and hardship. This was General George Washington with a portion of the Continental army. They were entering New York on this same day when the British troops were leaving it. But although the British were leaving under the terms of the treaty of peace, and had gone on board ships that were to
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE FIRST PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES
THE FIRST PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES
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 rule of the English King, but it was necessary for them to learn to govern themselves. Each of the new States now had its own government. It was thought by many that there should be some powerful central government to control all the States. So after a great deal of deliberation a convention was held in Philadelphia over whi
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE WELCOME to GEORGE WASHINGTON
THE WELCOME to GEORGE WASHINGTON
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. In April George Washington came to this city from his home at Mount Vernon. Every step of his way, by carriage and on horseback, was a march of triumph. The people in towns and villages and countryside greeted him with shouts and signs of affection. But it was in New York that the greatest welcome was given him. The city had taken o
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CONCERNING the TAMMANY SOCIETY and BURR'S BANK
CONCERNING the TAMMANY SOCIETY and BURR'S BANK
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 great political body—Tammany Hall. The Tammany Society took its name from a celebrated Indian chief, and at first had as its central purpose the effort to keep a love of country strong in every heart. The best men in the city belonged to the Tammany Society, which held meetings and transacted business under all sorts
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MORE about HAMILTON and BURR
MORE about HAMILTON and BURR
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 homes of the wealthy. Where Broadway ended there was a patch of country called Lispenard's Meadow, and about this time a canal was cut through it from the Collect Pond to the Hudson River. This was the canal which long years afterward was filled in and gave its name to Canal Street. From time to time there were projects f
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ROBERT FULTON BUILDS a STEAM-BOAT
ROBERT FULTON BUILDS a STEAM-BOAT
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 first steps were taken to have free schools for all. A kindly man named De Witt Clinton was Mayor of the city, and he, with some other citizens, organized the Free School Society that was to provide an education for every child. The following year the first free school was opened. The society continued in force for forty-e
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE CITY PLAN
THE CITY PLAN
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 every sort of angle, forming a tangled maze. To remedy this, a commission was formed of several of the prominent citizens to determine just what course the streets should take. Now this commission decided not to interfere with those that existed, but to map out the island above the city and plan for those that were to be.
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE STORY of the ERIE CANAL
THE STORY of the ERIE CANAL
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 fled, and the stricken district was fenced off so that no one might enter it. It was like a place of the dead, silent and deserted. Many people went far out of town to Greenwich Village, and many business houses opened offices in this little settlement; with the result that Greenwich Village started on a new life, and it
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE BUILDING of the CROTON AQUEDUCT
THE BUILDING of the CROTON AQUEDUCT
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 Manhattan and were occupied by more than 200,000 people. The city was the centre of art and literature and science in America. The streets were lighted by gas; there were fine theatres; and the first street railroad in the world was in operation—the first step toward crowding out the lumbering stages. Newspapers were mul
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PROFESSOR MORSE and the TELEGRAPH
PROFESSOR MORSE and the TELEGRAPH
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 of Design and was Professor of the Literature of the Arts of Design at the University of the City of New York. This man believed that an electric current could be transmitted through a wire and so make it possible to convey a message from one point to another. One night, after having worked on his idea for years, he invi
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE GREATER NEW YORK
THE GREATER NEW YORK
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 laughable for the City Plan to provide for streets over its entire length. The city grew larger and larger. It stretched up to the Harlem River, leaped over it and went branching out into the country beyond. Great libraries were built; hospitals for the sick; prisons for the wrong-doer, markets, churches, public instituti
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
TABLE of EVENTS
TABLE of EVENTS
Year 1609. 1613. 1614. 1621. 1626. 1629. 1633. 1636. 1638. 1641. 1642. 1643. 1644. 1646. 1647. 1652. 1653. 1655. 1664. 1667. 1670. 1673. 1674. 1678. 1681. 1682. 1686. 1688. 1689. 1691. 1692. 1693. 1696. 1697. 1699. 1700. 1701. 1702. 1705. 1708. 1710. 1711. 1714. 1715. 1720. 1725. 1728. 1729. 1731. 1732. 1733. 1735. 1736. 1741. 1743. 1745. 1752. 1753. 1755. 1756. 1759. 1760. 1761. 1763. 1765. 1766. 1770. 1771. 1773. 1774. 1775. 1776. 1777. 1780. 1781. 1783. 1788. 1789. 1790. 1798. 1803. 1804. 180
33 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter