List of former municipalities in New York City
The City of Greater New York was formed in 1898 through the consolidation of a number of municipalities, some of which were themselves consolidated from smaller municipalities. This article lists the towns and cities that have formerly existed within the current boundaries of New York City from the time the British assumed control of New Amsterdam up until the 1898 consolidation.
Contents |
Manhattan [edit]
- City of New York
- Town of New Harlem (Nieuw Haarlem) - chartered 1658, annexed to New York in 1666[1][2]
The Bronx [edit]
The Bronx was originally part of Westchester County. Parts of it were annexed to New York County (and New York City) in 1874 and 1895. It was established as a separate borough upon the consolidation of Greater New York, but was not legally established as a separate county, Bronx County, until 1914.
- Town of Eastchester (part) - annexed to New York in 1895
- Town of Kingsbridge - separated from Yonkers in 1873; annexed to New York in 1874
- Town of Morrisania - separated from West Farms in 1855; annexed to New York in 1874
- Town of Pelham (part) - annexed to New York in 1895
- Town of Westchester - annexed to New York in 1895
- Town of West Farms - separated from Westchester Town in 1846; annexed to New York in 1874
- Town of Yonkers (part) - the part that would later be incorporated into the Bronx separated as Kingsbridge in 1873
Kings County [edit]
When it was created in 1688 Kings County contained six towns.[3][4] The Village of Brooklyn was formed in part of the town in 1816 (its boundaries roughly match those of present-day neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights.[5] The entire town of Brooklyn became a city in 1834.[6] The City of Brooklyn eventually annexed the other towns and cities in Kings County between 1854 and 1896, before itself becoming part of New York City in 1898.[7]
- City of Brooklyn - founded as "Breuckelen" in 1646. Originally a town; became a city in 1834; consolidated into Greater New York in 1898
- Town of Bushwick - founded as "Boswijck" in 1661, annexed to Brooklyn in 1854
- Town of Flatbush - founded as "Midwout" in 1652; annexed to Brooklyn in 1894
- Town of Flatlands - founded as "New Amersfoort" in 1647; annexed to Brooklyn in 1896
- Town of Gravesend - founded in 1645; annexed to Brooklyn in 1894
- Town of New Lots - separated from Flatbush in 1852; annexed to Brooklyn in 1886
- Town of New Utrecht - founded in 1657; annexed to Brooklyn in 1894
- City of Williamsburgh - originally a village within Bushwick (incorporated 1827); became a separate town in 1840; became a city in 1851; annexed to Brooklyn in 1854
Queens County [edit]
All of Flushing, Jamaica, Long Island City, and Newtown, as well as the Rockaway Peninsula portion of Hempstead, consolidated into Greater New York in 1898. The rest of Hempstead and the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay split from Queens County to form Nassau County in 1899.
- Town of Flushing, chartered 1645[8]
- Town of Hempstead (part)
- Town of Jamaica
- City of Long Island City - separated from Newtown in 1870
- Town of Newtown
Richmond County [edit]
All of Staten Island consolidated into Greater New York in 1898.
- Town of Castleton
- Town of Northfield
- Town of Middletown - formed in 1860 from parts of Castleton and Southfield
- Town of Southfield
- Town of Westfield
References [edit]
- ^ Gibson, Ellen (2004). Gibson's New York Legal Research Guide. Buffalo: Wm. S. Hein. p. 765. p. 409: "English patents granted [in 1666 and 1678] made New York City coextensive with Manhattan Island, Harlem effectively became a town within the city."
- ^ For example, see Colton, Topographical Map of the City and County of New York, 1836, (at http://www.davidrumsey.com/) which shows by a thin line "original boundary between New York and Harlem"
- ^ Brooklyn Revealed Interactive map of six original towns
- ^ Ellis, Edward Robb (1966). The Epic of New York City. Old Town Books. p. 53.
- ^ Stiles, Henry Reed (1867-9). The Village of Brooklyn in 1816. Compiled from the first village map of that date by Jeremiah Lott, and Lott's map of the Pierrepont Estate of 1819.
- ^ Gibson, Ellen M (1998). Gibson's New York Legal Research Guide. Buffalo: William S. Hein & Co. p. 403: "In 1834, over the objections of New York [City], it [(Brooklyn)] became a city comprising the entire area of the former town of Brooklyn."
- ^ Jackson, Kenneth (1995). Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- ^ "Pluralism Commentary". Religion and Ethic Newsweekly. PBS. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
