page_title: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
section_title: Early settlements
hierarchical_section_title: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn / History / Early settlements
caption_attribution_description: George Bradford Brainerd (American, 1845-1887). Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, ca. 1872-1887. Wet-collodion negative. Prints, Drawings and Photographs. Brooklyn Museum/Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection, 1996.164.2-157. (1996.164.2-157_glass_IMLS_SL2.jpg) Thank you, BillRHodesPhoto! This image has been geotagged by BillRHodesPhoto so Brooklyn could be part of the Historypin launch on July 11, 2011. Want to help? See if you can place any of these images on a map! More about #mapBK: www.brooklynmuseum.org/mapbk
context_page_description: Bay Ridge is a residential neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park on the north, Dyker Heights on the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway on the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on the south. The section of Bay Ridge south of 86th Street is sometimes considered part of a sub-neighborhood called Fort Hamilton.
  Bay Ridge was formerly the westernmost portion of the town of New Utrecht, comprising two smaller villages: Yellow Hook to the north and Fort Hamilton to the south. Yellow Hook was renamed Bay Ridge in 1853 to avoid negative connotations with yellow fever at the time. Bay Ridge became developed as a rural summer resort during the mid-19th century. The arrival of the New York City Subway's Fourth Avenue Line in the early 20th century led to its development as a residential neighborhood.
  Bay Ridge is part of Brooklyn Community District 10, and its primary ZIP Codes are 11209 and 11220. It is patrolled by the 68th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. Politically it is represented by the New York City Council's 43rd District.
context_section_description: South Brooklyn was originally settled by the Canarsee Indians, one of several indigenous Lenape peoples who farmed and hunted on the land. The Canarsee Indians had several routes that crossed Brooklyn, including a path from Fulton Ferry along the East River that extended southward to Gowanus Creek, Sunset Park, and Bay Ridge. The Canarsee traded with other indigenous peoples, and by the early 17th century, also with Dutch and English settlers.
  The first European settlement at Bay Ridge occurred in 1636 when Willem Adriaenszen Bennett and Jacques Bentyn purchased 936 acres (379 ha) between 28th and 60th Streets, in what is now Sunset Park. However, after the land was purchased in the 1640s by Dutch settlers who laid out their farms along the waterfront, the Canarsee were soon displaced, and had left Brooklyn by the 18th century. Present-day Bay Ridge was the westernmost portion of New Utrecht, founded in 1657 by the Dutch. The area consisted of two sister villages: Yellow Hook to the north, named for the color of the soil, with "Hook" from the Dutch hoek, meaning "corner" and Fort Hamilton to the south, named for the military installation at its center.
  Yellow Hook was mostly farmland until the late 1840s. In 1848, Third Avenue within the area was widened. Two years later, a group of artists moved to the area and founded a colony called Ovington Village, named after the family who owned the farmland in the area. Around 1853, Yellow Hook changed the community's name to avoid association with yellow fever. "Bay Ridge" was suggested by local horticulturist James Weir after the area's most prominent geographic features: the high ridge that offered views of New York Bay. The natural beauty attracted the wealthy, who built country homes along Shore Road, overlooking the water.
  The first settlers referred to Fort Hamilton as the "Nyack Tract", after the Native American tribe that lived there. Fort Hamilton began to develop in the 1830s as a resort destination when the corresponding military fortification was created. The mostly-immigrant laborers in the area started to create a community to the fort's north and west, which included stores, houses, churches, and a school. The community was linked by stagecoach to New Utrecht, Gowanus, and downtown Brooklyn, as well as by ferry to Staten Island and Manhattan.
  In the mid-19th century, a large number of country houses were built on Bay Ridge, especially along Shore Road, which faced the New York Harbor to the west. The advent of the telephone allowed estate owners to communicate with their businesses in Manhattan while enjoying their stays at the rural country estates of Bay Ridge. Through this period Greek Revival, Italianate, and Gothic Revival villas were built on Shore Road; many of these villas were constructed by the descendants of the area's original settlers. Suburban development in Bay Ridge continued through the 1890s. One of the most prominent organizations in Bay Ridge was the Crescent Athletic Club, a football club built in 1884, which contained a summer clubhouse, boathouse, and playing fields. By the late 19th century, it was anticipated that a series of parkways would be built across Brooklyn, connecting Bay Ridge to Eastern Parkway, Ocean Parkway, and Prospect Park. As such, several wide, tree-lined streets were laid through the neighborhood, including 75th Street (now Bay Ridge Parkway); Fort Hamilton Parkway; and Shore Road.
caption: George Bradford Brainerd, Bay Ridge, c. 1872 – c. 1887 Brooklyn Museum
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