The times., 1898-01-01
NEW YORk'S GROWTH.
Interesting Statistics of Density a Id
Migration

Interesting Statistics of Density a Id
Migration
From before the time when the city
fathers turned the cheaper brown stone
side OF the ciuy's han tow ard the field ;i.d
pastures above Chambers street, thinking
that no bovine dwelIer therein would ever
feel the slight which has become a by
word fo' rt-sightedness. when aLutier4n
church, though i'm deep straits, rejected "A
gift OF six acres in the vicinity of Canal
street ana Broadway, because the land
was not worth fencing, the march of popu-
lation, like that OF business, has been north
ward, veerinG first east ana then vest.
The Hiol cment may be traced curiouSlyta
the history OF the ward lines. the location
of which was the result OF the shifting and
growth Of the eity's popula tion. The Mont
gomery charter in 1870 divided Manhattan
Island into seven wards. Six of these iay
below what is now Canal street, and the
other. the Out Ward took in the rest Of the
island. The boundaries OF the first five
wards. the city OF colony times. were Efid
down in 1891. and remain the 50 me to this
day. Tht growing ward was then the
Sixth. which included the region between
Rroadwav. Park Row and the Bowery. as
far north a : Houston street. In ten years
the principle of equal representation in al
tlermen required the crea tion of two new
wards. The city was filling up between
Canal and Houston streets, the BoEery and
the North River and the Eighth ward was
formed. For Greenwich village and the
growing country northward the Mint h Wa RI
was laid out. This was. in 1901
In lS60, fitty-nine years later, the center
of gravity Of the population of Manhattan
Island was on Eighteenth street hall way
between Broadway and Fifty avenue. Be
tween / SEQ end 1S7ofG moved five blocks
north tc the corner OF Twenty third street
and Fourth avenue, By 1SSoit was seven
blocks further up town, on Tmrtietll street,
east of Madison avenue. During the next
ten years it jumped mile to the north, to
Madison avenue, half way between Fiftieth
and Fifty seventh streets. In $50 the
island above Fighty-siXth street contained
five Inhabitants TO the acre, and between
Fortieth and Eighty-siNth streets about
thirty tphabitants to the acre. The west
half Of this section was twice as thickly
settled a. the east. Between Fourteenth
and FostietH streets the west side was the
mora noraious. The twentieth ward 0be
tween 1wenty-SiXth and Furtieth streets
on the wesD had 80 inhabitants TO the
acre, and the Tweaty-first, lying on the
east side. between the same streets, had
119. The Mulberry BEND and Five Points
wardftu: SIXTH was tn most deasely popu
lated, with 81 people to the acre, although
the Eleventh and Thirteenta {bet yeen Grand
aud Fourteenth streets, the Bowery, andthe
East Rvcrl had each over 500. Nexg came
the Tenth. with 272, the Fourth, with 264,
and the Seventeenth, with 22o. The ie
population of the dry goods district was
wall uGoer way, for Che Second and Third
wards contained about tirirty-five iRhabi-
tants to the acre, although the First, or all
the island below Liberty street and Maiden
lane, had III.
In 1870 population had gathered most
densely in the Tenth. Eleventh and Thir-
teenth wards, with an average of 800 70