New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-06
OID LONG ISLAND.

Tho Incorporaiion of the county towns with
the city IL Brooklyn cOnsgns Ia oblivion the
names 81 the old Dutch villages which sprang
mn moi long after the discovery Of the hudson
and the settlement Of New Amsterdam. Inc
names Of the four towns annexed by recent
LEGISLATION are Enthusiastically Dutch In origin.
although some OF them have been wantonly
Angliclzed GravcscBd. while English In form
IS I'm reality an adaptation Of GravcnsAnd", sig
ulfving Counts beach and borrowed from
ltilc port on the Mas As The Hague was
originally Craven Hague. or the Counts hedge.
80 also Gravcnsandc was memorial OF the
traditional privileges Of the Counts of Holland,
and history repeated itself when King John
NcI[anc converted the sand shingles or con"y
Island into his private domain. Ncw-Ctrecht
il uncouiyocally Ouch In FORM but Flatbush
l. an anomalous and Lnintelligible English cor
rrntion. The original name was Midwout, or
Nidwon1 but the early settlers employed an
unfortunate synonyme when they substituted
for II VlachtC~ bos or wooded level. since 1t was
liable to barbarous distortion by English
Tongues The neighbOring town Of Flatlands.
first known rs AmersfOOrt In Van 1WillerS
time has suffered from similar causes. All
these Dutch villages. however, have their origin
ncrpctuatcd I'm the common name OF brooklyn,
which Is derived from Brcuckelin, town In
Utrecht with which the early settlers had pleas
ant home associations.
When UendrIck IIudson's men sailed through
the Narrows they described the west end OF
Long Island rs full Of great tall oaks and the
lands as pleasant with grass and flowers and
roodly trees rs they mad ever seen, and very
sweet smells came therefrom." Their impress
sIons were confirmed by the pioneers on Sea-
wanhaka the Indian name for the island. AS
early rs 1876 the shore line was settled opposite
New-Amstcrdam but the hills were so steep
and the soil was so rocky that the thrifty Dutch
farmers soon pushed through the woods to the
southern shore, where they found the best land
for tillagc Van Twiller set the example by
making II clearing near Flatlands Bay and
planting tobacco in Ancrsfoort Gravcnsandc
became another farming centre for raising that
valuable crop and Midwout, or Nlachtebos was
settled about the same time, its broad arabic
level between two lines of forest suggesting
the name Ncw-Utrccht and Oostwoud, after
ward Ncw-I0ts, completed the circuit OF these
Dutch farming towns, all OF which fiourishcd
while Brcucken remained for generations hard
" more than a crry-landng from Manhattan.
The first county courthouse was built In Graves
end but Flatbush speedily became the county
seat where the Sheriff lived and court sessions
were held The first Dutch church on the
island was built there in 1854, and the first
schoohouse as well.
AS F1atbush was the stronghold Of the old
Dutch element in the western end of Long
Island long after the transfer of New-York 10
the English so II remained at the time of the
American Revolution. The British Army adj
vancIne TO attack Washingtons troops In the
battle of Long Island marched 10y Il long, stray
Cling line Of old-fashioned Dutch houses and
windmills 1t was even then bit Of rustic
Holland In the New World, and so conservative
were the people that the town preserved until
istlcs Of its early history. The old county road
with It's lndens oaks and walnuts and It's wind
Ing curves and sharp turns was transformed
few wears ago into n suburban street This in
yolyed the slaughter Of the trees, the straight
ening Of the lines and the equalization of the
grade All these were necessary improvements,
hut they deprived the town Of its picturesque
turnpike and opened the way for It's conversion
into a city ward. The charming Dutch gables
have given place to the complex abOminati0ns
of Queen Anne architecture. and ancestral acres
which have been inherited generation after
generation are now In the market as building
lots for all Corners. The old Dutch Church with
n bell that came from Holland stands on the
site where a pioneer Governor Of New-Amster-