The History of Greenwich Village, New York City # 1

Greenwich Village has an interesting  early history starting with it’s name. The Native Americans called it Sapokanikan.  The Native Americans planted tobacco on the meadows between the North Water and Minetta Waters were they fished (the Minetta Waters are no longer visible but still flow). The land adjacent to the Minetta Waters was good duck hunting land. 

In the 1630s the Dutch called it Noortwyck. The Dutch planted tobacco and like the Native Americans fished for trout in  the waters. The quality of land was good and the village grew in size and Governor Van Twiller declared it his own! ! !  He used the land mainly for tobacco growth.General William Kieft, the Dutch Director, transferred property north of New Amsterdam to Africans who were once slaves in 1644, this “Negro land” (today’s South Village) was created to act as a buffer zone, protecting the dutch from the Native Americans.

In 1664 the English conquered the Dutch settlement of New Netherland and area we now call Greenwich Village became a sleepy hamlet outside city.  In the late 1600s “Negro Land” was sold to large landowners. A good portion of the  land was  sold in 1690 to the grandson of a dutch settler named Nicholas Bayard. 

In 1696, the first documented name change of the area appeared in the will of Yellis Mandeville. Mandeville moved to the area in the 1670s and he referred to the area as Greenwijck, or Pine District. This name came from a town nearby his Long Island residence which has since disappeared. It is believed by some that the word Greenwijck was Greenwich” was anglicized to Greenwich.  Please note, some believe that Greenwich Village was named after an area in London.

According to literature in 1712 it was an official village and in 1713 records refer to it as Grin’wich.  In the 1740s Sir  Peter Warren, British Navy Vice-Admiral and Captian Robert R. Randall both acquired a large land track. 

 The village endured the American Revolution as a pastoral suburb of the city. It remained farmland until 1797 when the city council purchased the land for a  new burial ground (Potter’s Field).  The land threaded by Minetta Water, part marsh, part sand and a good distance from the city was thought to be ideal for burials.  Following Captain Robert R. Randall’s death in 1801 he bequeathed money to establish a home for retired seamen on his village farmland, however, the home was not built on his farmland.

1799, 1803, 1805 and 1821 epidemics of yellow fever and cholera pushed residents of the city north (out of the city).  A brutal yellow fever epidemic in 1822 drove even more people to Greenwich Village seeking healthier living conditions.  In 1825 Potters Field  closed and the area was designated as a military parade ground and a pedestrian commons  (Washington Square Park). The remains of 20,000 rest under the common grounds.

Between 1828 and 1829 the  first federal-style mansion was built for George Rogers at No. 20 Washington Square North. No. 1 - 13 Washington Square North consisted of a group of Greek-revival style houses built in the 1830s.  The homes were built on land leased from Sailors’ Snug Harbour trustees (this is the farmland Captain Randall intended the retired seaman’s home to be built. The home was built eventually on Staten Island). The south side of the common grounds (Washington Square South) had federal styled homes.

In 1835, Samuel F.B. Morse, moved into his university quarters at(NYU) Washington Square East.  He was chair of the Painting and Sculpture Department. He created and sent the first Morse Code Message from his NYU living quarters

The military parade grounds and pedestrian commons was re-developed in 1849 -1850 and a proper park created. A fence was erected around the park and new paths were added. In 1852 the first fountain appeared in the park and was replaced in 1872.

During the Civil War (1850s) students of NYU and village residents reported for duty. Washington Square South was filled with Italian immigrants living in tenements. These Italian immigrants formed the”Garibaldi Guard” and were strong Union supports and defenders. The north side of the park remained posh.

The tenement era in the South Village started around 1869. Tenements were built for the poor and consisted of 3 or more  apartments withg few amenties.

The Judson Memorial Church  began construction in 1890.  Church leader Edward Judson erected the church in honor of his father, the first American Protestant foreign missionary. The idea was to have a meeting place for the wealthy of the north and the poor of the south. A common meeting ground.

A temporary wooden arch was erected on the common grounds to mark George Washington’s Presidential centennial by Standford White in 1888. The arch was modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The structure was so successful that a marble arch was commissioned and erected in 1892.

INTERESTING ARTICLES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BLOG:

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles06/new-york-city-61.shtml

http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/bobst/washsq/history/history.html

http://gonyc.about.com/od/neighborhoodguides/a/greenwich.htm

http://www.gvshp.org/

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/Alleys/GREENWICH%20VILLAGE/green.html

http://www.nycgv.com/about3.asp