SHORT HISTORY OF NEW UTRECHT

 New Utrecht was a Dutch colonial settlement on Long Island, founded in 1657 and named for a Dutch city. It developed as a rural, farming community and was home to a Dutch Reformed church and cemetery. During the Revolutionary War, it served as a base for British forces. Over time, the area avoided the widespread industrialization of other Brooklyn areas but eventually was annexed by the City of Brooklyn in 1894, which led to its urbanization and the development of modern neighborhoods. 

Early Settlement and Dutch Colonial Period (1657-1776)

• Founding:

  New Utrecht was established in 1657 by Jacques Cortelyou, a Dutch surveyor, on land purchased earlier. The settlement was named after Utrecht in the Netherlands. 
• Rural Community:

  The town thrived as a rural farming community, a characteristic that persisted due to its relatively isolated location. 
• Religion:

  A Dutch Reformed congregation was organized, leading to the establishment of the New Utrecht Reformed Church and the New Utrecht Cemetery in 1654, the latter being one of the earliest Dutch colonial burial grounds. 

Revolutionary War Era (1776)

• British Base:

  The town played a significant role in the Battle of Long Island (also known as the Battle of Brooklyn) in 1776. 
• Occupied Territory:

  The British army used New Utrecht as its base of operations during the first large-scale battle of the Revolutionary War. 

19th Century: Rural Charm and Annexation (1800-1890)

• Continued Rural Life: New Utrecht largely escaped the industrialization that transformed other parts of Brooklyn, maintaining its quiet, rural character for much of the 19th century. 
• Produce for Brooklyn: The town supplied fresh produce to the growing city of Brooklyn. 
• Annexation: The defining event for New Utrecht in the 19th century was its annexation by the City of Brooklyn in 1894. This marked the beginning of its transformation from a rural village into a major residential area. 

Transition to a Modern Neighborhood 

• Urbanization: Following its annexation, New Utrecht was gradually transformed by urbanization, eventually becoming the home of several distinct neighborhoods, including Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, Bensonhurst, and Bath Beach.

“Turks Plantaion” in New Utrecht area of Brooklyn—Gretchen 

Reynier and Anthony Turk Jansen setup home in New Utrech after expelled for Al’s vicious behavior of wife—measures privates of sailors in pub using a broomstick causes a brawl..from NA in 1639. See  pg 34 Gotham Burowughs and Wallace

• Page 59 ibid 
• In 1664 Lisabet Antonioset—the daughter of a half freed slave who the DWiC kept in bondage  set her master’s house in Niew Utrecht on fire. The NAsterdam court ordered her chained, to a stake, strangled and burned to death—though it commuted the sentence on the day of execution (houses were valuable and elaborate..owners were wealthy and had political power. 
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• The Peach War (see pg 68 ibid) dozens of invaders and fifty whited lay dead…600 head of cattle stolen or killed, 12 000 bushels of grain lost or stolen ended Lenape resistance to European colonization abd expansion 
• In 1656 Chief Takapusha signed a treaty with styverant accepting governor of NAm as Indians “protector” and vowed to live in peace with neighbors. 
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• See pg 69 Iboid
• But the pacification of the Lenape did not improve Styvesant’s authority in the colony. Especially in the Wild West of Niew Utrecht
• Where free thinkers, Protestants, invaders from English settlements and other troublemakers seemed to congregate. 
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• In 1652 Conrneilieus Van Werkhoven a shareholder of the DWIC and wealthy investor came to Peter Styversant’s aid. On that date van Werkhoven sent agents to persuade the local inhabitants of a vast stretch of Brooklyn from the western headlands overlooking the Narrows to Gravesend BAy and east lands which were the hunting lands of the Nayack tribe of the Lenape Indians. Van Werkhoven’s agent arranged for a sale in which the Nayack sold the entire area of western Brooklyn comprising  a thousand acres or more for “six shirts, two pair of shoes, six pair of socks, six axes, six hatchets, six knives, two scissors, and two combs.” —the Nyacks were happy but