View Brooklyn Agriculture Subject Guide (with images)

Brooklyn Agriculture Subject Guide
Prepared by Diana Bowers, May 2014
This guide is intended as an aid to researchers interested in archival
material at Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) that relates to the history
of agriculture in Brooklyn. The bulk of the materials dates from the
earliest days of European settlement in the seventeenth century through
the nineteenth century, documenting how Brooklyn residents’
relationship to the land changed drastically during that period. Some
select twentieth-century resources are also included to demonstrate
how Brooklyn’s agriculture persisted in outer-borough areas of Brooklyn,
and how Brooklyn’s agricultural history shapes Brooklyn today.
According to a seminal monograph on the subject, Of Cabbages and
Kings County: Agriculture and the Formation of Modern Brooklyn
(1999), Kings County was one of the nation’s leading vegetable
producers as late as 1880, second only to neighboring Queens County.
Though there was farming all across Long Island, the land was more
productive on what is now the urban end of the island. Though Kings
County had been a leading agricultural center for over 250 years, mostly
due the many farms in the outer-borough area, its land was rendered
almost entirely urban residential in the twenty years between 1890 and
1910. The Brooklyn Eagle reported on Brooklyn’s “last farmer” in 1949.
Researchers should be aware that this guide is not necessarily
comprehensive and is intended to be improved over time. This guide
focuses primarily on sources relating to Brooklyn (Kings County) in
particular and includes only select materials from the other Long Island
counties or other areas of New York. Researchers may wish to explore
the library catalogs further to identify other materials helpful to their
research. Access to the search portals for all library collections may be
found here.
This guide emphasizes text-based archival material unique to the BHS,
but also includes select materials from the Society’s collections of
photographs, maps, and prints and drawings, as well as some
selections from the library’s extensive collection of books. In addition to
the material detailed in this guide, there are many other resources at
BHS useful to research in Brooklyn’s agricultural history. Researchers
can use BHS’s online catalog, Bobcat, for other relevant material such
Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Phone: 718-222-4111
brooklynhistory.org
as books and other printed matter available in the library. Search Bobcat
here.
The principal subject heading to search is Agriculture. You can search
on this heading alone or narrow your results by using Agriculture with
sub-headings such as history, folklore, economic aspects,
handbooks, manuals, etc. Among other related subject headings are
Farmers, Farms, Real Property, and Labor. You can also search by
name of specific locations, either alone or with Agriculture or another
subject heading. Examples of locations include: New York, Brooklyn,
Flatlands, Kings County, Queens County, Nassau County, Suffolk
County, and Long Island.
There is a section of this guide devoted solely to legal documents
regarding land ownership. Further searches in this area could use the
subject terms Land Titles, Deeds, Decedents’ Estates, and
Landowners.
While this guide notes some visual resources for views of agricultural
Brooklyn, researchers may also wish to search the Society’s online
image resources by clicking here or visit the library in person to access
the entire collection of digitized images on site. This includes
photographs, paintings, prints, and drawings. For more information
about visiting the library, please click here.
BHS has several other resources that are useful for many areas of
research, including agriculture. For example, from 1939-1942, 19611969, and 1973-1982, BHS (then known as the Long Island Historical
Society) published a periodic journal, called the Long Island Historical
Society Quarterly in 1939-42 and, in the later years, The Journal of Long
Island History. The journals include articles on historical topics
concerning Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. Some of
these articles relate to agriculture. A list in PDF form of the articles in the
journals can be found on Emma here; use the search terms agriculture
or farm in the document to find the relevant material. The journals
themselves are available in the library. Click here for more information
about the journals.
The following materials are available by appointment for viewing in the
library. To schedule an appointment or for further information about
these collections, please contact the library via email at
[email protected].
Collections are arranged by format in this guide. Within the format
sections, collections or items are presented in rough chronological order
according to the earliest date of the collection. Each entry follows the
format:
Collection name, date range of the collection
Call number
Brooklyn Historical Society
brooklynhistory.org
Link to more information about collection (if available).
Brief description of relevant content in the collection.
Archives and Manuscripts: Papers and Records
William Henry Stillwell manuscript on the history of Gravesend,
1635-1915
Call number: 1977.309
More information
The beginning of this typescript on the history of Gravesend describes
the area’s early rural origins.
Stoothoff Family Collection, 1642-1796
Call number: ARC.150
More information
This collection contains 138 manuscript documents and other papers
dating from the 1600s and 1700s, relating to the Stoothoff family of
Flatlands, Long Island, which is now part of Brooklyn, New York.
Documents with information about farmland and farming transactions
include deeds, accounts, and receipts. Many of the documents are in
Dutch. An index of all documents and translations of all Dutch
documents accompanies this collection.
Lefferts family papers, circa 1650s-1970s
Call number: ARC.145
More information
Digital Exhibition
This collection covers a variety of subjects including the development of
Flatbush, and the following information related to agriculture. Box 1
includes an inventory of John Lefferts’ estate (1778) and an indenture
from 1774 in folder 1, indentures and deeds in folder 3, the account
book of Jacobus Lefferts (1757-1799) in folder 6, and more indentures
and estate inventories in folder 7. Box 3 includes business records
including land transactions in folder 9 and farm receipts in folder 14. Box
OS3 includes a broadside advertisement for land owned by John
Lefferts in Flatbush from 1887, which includes a map. There are other
maps in Series 5. Series 3 also has some items that may be of interest
for agricultural history, such as an almanac, household inventory, and
more. Series 6 includes images of Brooklyn, New York City, and Lefferts
properties. There are articles regarding old Dutch houses and families in
Series 7, and a book about the history of Flatbush as well as
housekeeping and recipe books in Series 8. View the full finding aid
here.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Middagh family papers, 1654-circa 1840
Call number: 1977.654
More information
The Garrett Middagh papers include a copy of an indenture for land in
the township of Brookland (Brooklyn), dated August 16, 1758, for
Garrett and Cornelia Middagh, and sold to Machiell Hanson. Together
the Middaghs owned a 30 acre farm near the ferry on the west side of
Fulton Street near Henry Street in Brooklyn (present-day DUMBO).
Nathaniel and Jonathan Huntting Papers, 1658-1849
Call number: 1974.075
More information
Huntting's account books and farm records show his agricultural
pursuits and transactions with the people of East Hampton, Long Island.
Bennet and Ryder families collection, 1670-2006
Call number: ARC.001
More information
This collection includes land indentures, maps of properties,
agreements for sales of land, deeds, titles, and legal documents.
Members of these families were instrumental in settling Gowanus and
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Gravesend. Box 4 includes one folder with information on and images of
old Dutch farmhouses in Kings County.
Remsen and Schenk family papers, 1698-1837
Call number: 1985.017
More information
The Remsen and Schenk family papers are comprised of various land
documents, including deeds, mortgages, wills, and conveyances to land
primarily in Brooklyn. Most documents concern property owned by the
Remsen and Schenk families. The collection relates to the following
farmers: Jacob Remsen (1719-1794), Joris Remsen (1721-1794) Martin
Schenk (1796-1823) and Lambert Schenk (1796-1815).
Peter Wyckoff historical notes, circa 1700-1850
Call number: 1977.582
More information
Topics covered include the construction of public roads in the town of
Bushwick; the Dutch district subdivisions of Red Hook, Breukelen,
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Gowanus, and Wallabout; and farmers' meetings.
There is also a discussion of “Brooklyn Affairs” including who owns how
much land and happenings on Brooklyn farms as well as the history of
the area.
Ryerson family papers and photographs, 1700 to circa 1920
Call number: ARC.095
More information
The Ryerson family papers contain documents related to land
ownership and property transactions such as deeds, wills, invoices,
Brooklyn Historical Society
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receipts, and account books. The collection spans the 18th and 19th
centuries with the bulk of the collection from the 19th century. John and
Jacob Ryerson inherited family farmland in Wallabout. The brothers also
owned farmland in Flatlands on New Lots Road near Kings Highway.
Also, a Ryerson family homestead was located on what is now the
Parade Grounds in Prospect Park.
Lott family papers, 1702-1954
Call number: ARC.186
More information
This collection includes some property maps and one share certificate
for the Kings County Rural Gazette (available at the New York Historical
Society and the Queensborough Library) in Box 2, folder 13. There are
also Flatlands land indentures in folder 14. Folder 16 contains a flyer for
Ditmas Publishing’s Old Homesteads books with an image of the Lott
homestead in Flatbush and a general description of old Brooklyn
homesteads. This is the same publisher as “Views of Picturesque
Flatbush.” Finally, the collection also includes some documents from the
1700s concerning farmland in box 3.
Henry Lloyd ledgers, 1703-1744
Call number: 1974.117
More information
Six ledgers of Henry Lloyd, recording financial transactions and
accounts throughout the period 1703 to 1744 for his property in what is
now Suffolk County, Long Island. These include information about the
prices of livestock, farm animals, and produce and some notations
about agreements with farmers.
Jacques Cortelyou papers, 1706-1898
Call number: ARC.025
More information
The Jacques Cortelyou papers span the period 1706 to 1898 and
consist chiefly of business, legal and financial records, many of which
pertain to Cortelyou's farm at Gowanus and serve to illuminate the
inheritance of the Old Stone House.
Andrew J. Provost collection of Bushwick, N.Y., family papers,
1709-1859
Call number: 1977.180
More information
Includes deeds, indentures, and property maps concerning the presentday areas of Bushwick and Greenpoint.
Richard Lawrence Estate inventory, 1717
Call number: 1974.206
More information
Brooklyn Historical Society
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This inventory of an estate on Long Island shows the values of every
item in the estate, including livestock and other agricultural inventory.
Meserole family papers, circa 1717 to 1915
Call number: ARC.063
More information
The Meserole family was one of the original five families who settled in
the areas that are now the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods
of Brooklyn. In 1667, Jean bought a farm in New Utrecht, now the
Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge. He then bought another farm,
Kyckout ("the Lookout"), that ran along the East River. Today, this farm
would be located in Williamsburg between North 1st Street and
Broadway. The collection includes an oversized parchment
documenting a legal decision regarding a land dispute over that farm
circa 1717.
Garret Van Horne ledger, 1720-34
Call number: 1974.072
More information
Ledger of Garret Van Horne, resident of Huntington, Long Island, New
York. The ledger shows prices of livestock, crops, and so forth.
Gabriel Furman papers, 1725-1913
Call number: ARC.190
More information
The Furman papers principally include thirteen journals dating from circa
1816 to circa 1854. These journals provide firsthand descriptions of
Brooklyn’s landscape and development. Furman lived in what is now
Brooklyn Heights.
See also: Typescripts of Gabriel Furman’s Notes on Brooklyn, N.Y.,
1821-23, circa 1920 typescripts of 1821-23 journal, call number
ARC.229 (more information).
Henry Onderdonk Papers, 1729-1895
Brooklyn Historical Society
brooklynhistory.org
Call number: ARC.045
More information
The historical manuscripts, notes, and extensive correspondence in the
collection contain information on agriculture and animal husbandry, with
a focus on Long Island.
Pierrepont Family Papers, 1761-1918
Call number: ARC.263
More information
Box 1, folder 1 contains information about cows and cattle (1818-1824).
Box 8, folder 1 contains an account book with details of corn and rye
deliveries from Long Island farmers (1816-1822). Box 1, folder 20 has
financial documents, some of which document land purchase (1845).
The Pierreponts were mostly active in what is now downtown Brooklyn
and Brooklyn Heights.
Francis Skillman Papers, 1769-1896
Call number: ARC.280
More information
This collection includes correspondence, journals, a docket book,
property agreements, account books, and miscellaneous historical
documents. The journals principally concern Skillman's farming activities
and his hiring of help. Skillman was born in Wallabout, Brooklyn but
lived most of his life in Roslyn, Long Island in what is now Nassau
County.
March, Middagh and Sands families property records, 1770-1856
Call number: 1974.038
More information
This collection includes property records for the downtown Brooklyn and
Brooklyn Heights areas from 1770 to 1856. Deeds are in folders 6-9 and
13-14; leases are in folder 15; mortgages are in folders 16 and 18; and
legal documents to do with land partition and conveyance are in folders
10, 19, and 21. There is also a map in folder 25.
John R. Couwenhoven papers, 1783-1812
Call number: 1973.167
More information
This collection consists primarily of a single account book that includes
the prices of farm goods such as flour. Couwenhoven lived in the town
of New Utrecht, currently encompassed by the neighborhoods of
Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Bay Ridge.
Nehemiah Denton Papers, 1785-1844
Call number: 1977.171
More information
This collection includes legal papers, deeds, receipts, account books
and bills of sale, relating to Denton’s activities as a miller and merchant
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in Gowanus. Items of interest include a license to use the patented
milling machinery designed by Oliver Evans, with a diagram of the
machine on the back, as well as Denton’s property records.
Martin Schoonmaker family papers, 1793-1899
Call number: ARC.090
More information
This collection includes an account book that contains numerous
references to the personal and business expenditures of Schoonmaker
and his wife, and also renders family, farm, and rental accounts of other
individuals, with information on various landowners of Gravesend,
Ocean Parkway, Parkville, and Coney Island properties. The volume
also contains six loose documents relating to accounts and property
assessments.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Edward Tompkins and Thomas Way farm agreement and receipt,
1795-1811
Call number: 1977.365
More information
This collection consists of a receipt, dated 1795, and an agreement,
dated 1811, between Edward Tompkins and Thomas Way, both of the
town of Newtown in Queens County (present-day Elmhurst). The
agreement provides Tompkins with a farm Way owns for a term of ten
years. Way also agrees to provide supplies to Tompkins in return for
one-half the produce from the farm while Tompkins is there.
Agricultural Society of Kings County records, 1807
Call number: 1977.396
More information
One document that contains the Agricultural Society of Kings County's
constitution, bylaws, list of officers, goals, dues list, and meeting
minutes, dated March 1807. The Agricultural Society of Kings County
was established by major landowners. The focus of the Society was to
promote agriculture, husbandry, and rural affairs. This document gives
an idea of what was important to farmers and landowners and who
prominent landowners were at the time. It also shows the intersection of
farming and politics.
Merchant account book, 1813-15
Call number: 1973.300
More information
Brooklyn Historical Society
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This volume documents transactions for the sale of, among other things,
farm goods such as foodstuffs and livestock feed, presumably from a
general store or a similar merchant business in Huntington, Long Island.
Timothy Matlack farm auction broadside, 1823
Call number: 1978.190
More information
A broadside, dated 1823, that advertises the auction of a farm located in
Flushing, Queens to be sold by Timothy Matlack. The broadside
provides detailed information on the characteristics of the property.
Benjamin Rowland Account Books, 1827-1828
Call number: ARC.075
More information
Rowland was a merchant, and this volume details monetary
transactions for goods such as sugar, tobacco, tea, and coffee, giving
an idea of the prices of farm goods at the time. Rowland’s customers
lived throughout the New York area, including in Queens County, Long
Island, and New Jersey.
John C. Bergen papers, 1827-1894
Call number: 1974.114
More information
John C. Bergen (1826-1907) was a farmer on Bergen's Island in
Flatlands, Kings County, New York (now part of Brooklyn). His papers
include pages from his diary (1846-1848, 1854) and an account book
Brooklyn Historical Society
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with daybook and other transactional entries (1827-1835, 1865-1894).
The diary entries focus principally on daily farming activities, hunting
(including at Barren Island), weather, and bringing goods to market in
Brooklyn and other Kings County towns.
Harriet Stryker-Rodda typescript of Peter Wyckoff recollections,
1828-1958
Call number: 1973.258
More information
This is an indexed typescript of the recollections of Peter Wyckoff of the
Brooklyn town of Bushwick, including information about farm sales,
raising livestock, and arrangements between farmers.
Board of Supervisors of Kings County collection, 1835-1857
Call number: ARC.049
More information
This collection includes a tax ledger, in which each entry lists a
landowner's name, the value of the property, and the amount of taxes
due. The listings include properties in Gowanus, Flatbush, and Bedford.
Storm and Kolyer families papers and photographs, 1835-1918
Call number: ARC.083
More information
This collection includes land indentures and a Kings County Supreme
Court announcement for the auctioning of land in the Town of New Lots
in Brooklyn (now part of East New York).
John C. Ditmas account book, 1837-1854
Call number: 1973.292
More information
Brooklyn Historical Society
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This is an account book for the Brooklyn, New York farm of John C.
Ditmas, dated 1837 to 1854. The account book lists prices paid and
received for various goods and services.
William Remsen Mulford Papers, circa 1850
Call number: 1993.006
More information
This collection contains three documents, two of which pertain to farms.
Bartlett family papers, 1862-1931
Call number: ARC.211
More information
This collection includes diaries detailing everyday life in Brooklyn from
1862 to 1931.
Kate Conger Baker booklet, 1882
Call number: 1985.041
More information
A bound paperback of the booklet “‘Common-Sense’ in the Farm-house
or, Young Mothers’ Assistant,” written by Kate Conger Baker and
published in 1882. There are very few actual farm tips (the booklet
mainly contains recipes and tips for household maintenance), but some
at the back of the booklet are helpful, such as what makes a bushel,
how many eggs a hen will lay in a lifetime, the measurement of an acre,
and so forth. Baker lived in Brooklyn and Great Neck, Long Island.
Francis V. Morrell’s Recollections of Old Williamsburgh, circa 1915
Call number: 1973.084
More information
This manuscript provides an understanding of how areas that were once
farms (here, Williamsburg) changed over time to become increasingly
more urban.
H.Dickson McKenna collection, 1868-1991
Call number: ARC.060
More information
This collection is a source for materials on modern farmer’s markets and
gentrification in twentieth-century Brooklyn. Box 1, folder 6 contains
Boerum Hill materials, including a farm line map, image of threshing
wheat, and narrative linking the neighborhood to the original farmers in
a brochure for the 1969 house tour. There is also a 1967 “History of
Boerum Hill” booklet with propagandistic and apocryphal information
linking current-day residents to the original farming settlers of the area,
in addition to several other materials on and references to gardens and
“green” initiatives. Box 4, folder 25 contains information on landscaping
and gardening and articles on indoor gardening and “group landscaping”
(i.e. community gardens).
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Robert Vadheim Brooklyn Heights Association collection, 19641980
Call number: 1988.051
More information
This twentieth-century collections contains additional references to
community gardening and “green” initiatives in the late twentieth century
in Brooklyn, including farmer’s markets and at least one “plant in.” This
includes information on the Vacant Lot Gardening Program and
Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Neighborhood Tree Corps, as well as descriptions
of the activities of the Magnolia Tree Committee (also of BedfordStuyvesant) in Series 1, folder 3.
Archives and Manuscripts: Legal Documents Related to Land
Ownership
American Indians and English settlers Gravesend deed, 1665
Call number: 1977.594
More information
This is a photocopy of a 1909 typescript of the original deed for
Gravesend.
Richard Nicolls Breuckelen patent, 1667
Call number: 1974.149
Brooklyn Historical Society
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More information
Land patent for the town of Breuckelen, issued by New York Governor
Richard Nicolls in an apparent reconfirmation of an earlier Dutch patent.
Flatlands land patents and military commission, 1667-1787
Call number: 1974.016
More information
Two land patents issued for the Town of Amersfort (Flatlands) in Kings
County.
Brooklyn property records, 1683-1920
Call number: 1979.022
More information
The collection gathers together various deeds, leases, mortgages, and
title abstracts for properties located in Brooklyn, N.Y. Most of the title
abstracts and some of the other documents include plot maps that
clearly show the location of the property in question. Neighborhoods
include Willliamsburg and Bushwick.
Stevanus Van Cortlandt Red Hook land deeds, 1697, 1712
Call number: 1974.007
More information
This is a deed issued to Stephanus (spelled Stevanus) Van Cortlandt by
William III, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, granting Van
Cortlandt a mill house, mill dam, waterways, and land tracts in an area
of the Island of Nassau known as Red Hook (the present-day Brooklyn
neighborhood of Red Hook), dated 1697. Also included is a deed from
the heirs of Stephanus Van Cortland to Matthias Van Dyk for the
property in Red Hook formerly owned by Van Cortlandt, dated 1712.
Ryck Hendrikse deed, 1704-5
Call number: 1978.112
More information
A deed for land in Flatbush.
Brooklyn and Long Island deeds collection, 1716-1885
Call number: 1978.006
More information
A collection of deeds from various properties located on Long Island.
Property locations in the collection include Flushing, Newtown (now
Elmhurst), Jamaica, and Brooklyn.
Hendrick H. Suydam papers, 1780-1806
Call number: 1991.009
More information
Includes three deeds: two in Gravesend, one in Flatbush.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Mortgage indenture between Nicholas Couwenhoven and John Van
Dine, 1782
Call number: 1990.012
More information
An indenture for property in Flatbush.
George Irving title abstract and deed, 1798-1857
Call number: 1981.007
More information
One photocopy of a title abstract granting farmland in Flushing, Queens
County, N.Y., commonly known as Willetts Neck, to George Irving, and
one photocopy of a deed from Irving to the United States Government
for the sale of the land. The title abstract includes a history of the
ownership of the property stretching back to 1798. The original
documents both date from 1857.
Abstracts of deeds to Brooklyn farms, circa 1800-1920
Call number: 1973.165
More information
One bound volume containing handwritten abstracts of titles and deeds
to several Brooklyn farms from the late 18th to early 19th centuries. A
partial index of some farms is also included.
Teunis Schenk land deed, 1818
Call number: 1973.218
More information
This deed concerns land now located on the Brooklyn and Jamaica
turnpike.
Thomas Gascoyne certificate of sale, 1841-45
Call number: 1991.024
More information
This is of one certificate of sale to Thomas Gascoyne for property in
Brooklyn on Myrtle and Tillary Streets in 1841 (now downtown
Brooklyn). The document also records the selling of the property by
Edward Gascoyne to Jacque Cortelyou in 1845.
Thomas Talmadge and Benjamin Stillwell land conveyance, 1845
Call number: 1991.027
More information
A conveyance of property between Thomas Talmadge, Mayor of the
City of Brooklyn, and Benjamin Stillwell for property located in Brooklyn
at Navy Street in present-day Vinegar Hill.
John M. Reid papers, 1861
Call number: 1980.017
More information
Brooklyn Historical Society
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The John M. Reid papers include a bond and deed concerning property
he owned in Brooklyn.
Elizabeth Brainerd deed, 1869
Call number: 1977.515
More information
Elizabeth Martense Brainerd (1794-1876) was the daughter of Flatbush
farmer Adrian Martense (1768-1810), who willed his land in the town of
New Utrecht to her (New Utrecht is now the neighborhoods of
Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Bay Ridge). Elizabeth Brainerd then
gave it to her daughter, Lucy E. Brainerd Barron (b. 1834). This
document is the quit claim deed between Elizabeth Brainerd and her
daughter regarding the estate of Elizabeth’s father.
New Utrecht land deeds and executor documents, 1873-1897
Call number: 1974.244
More information
This collection contains two deeds for property in the town of New
Utrecht in Kings County (now Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Bay
Ridge).
Photographs
Ditmas lantern slide collection, circa 1851 to 1905
Call number: V1974.018
More information
The collection includes both black-and-white and hand colored slides
depicting farms, barns, and rural areas. Most locations are unidentified.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Dutch in New York lantern slide collection, circa 1880 to 1890
Call number: V1974.025
More information
Images in this collection depict homes, churches, and artifacts relevant
to Dutch settlement in Brooklyn and New York City during the 17th and
18th centuries. One slide shows a circa 17th century Dutch map of the
region surrounding the Noort Riuier, known today as the Hudson River.
19th century Brooklyn Cabinet Card Collection, circa 1890 to 1902
Call number: V1987.021
More information
This collection contains images of rural scenes.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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William Koch glass plate negatives, 1890-1910
Call number: V1985.004
More information
The images in this collection show, among other things, houses, farms
and individuals outdoors, as well as rural and wooded scenes, which
show hunters and farmers. Koch owned a business in Bay Ridge,
Brooklyn but the specific locations of these photographs are unknown.
The images are all available online here.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Collection of photographic illustrations of locations in Brooklyn,
circa 1900 to 1920
Call number: V1991.070
More information
This Collection consists of 23 color photographic illustrations showing
views of Brooklyn including houses, churches, schools, and streets,
circa 1900 to 1920. Each illustration measures 4 x 6.5 inches and
includes a brief description printed on the bottom recto. It is likely that
the illustrations were detached from the book Brooklyn’s Garden: Views
of Picturesque Flatbush by Charles A. Ditmas.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Brooklyn’s Garden: Views of Picturesque Flatbush viewbook, 1908
Call number: V1986.019
More information
The subject of this viewbook is the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush,
circa 1908.
Prints & Drawings
Farmers Nooning
Call number: M1975.345.1
1843 engraving by Alfred Jones after an 1836 painting "Farmers
Nooning" by William Sidney Mount.
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Main Street / Formerly Kings Highway - at present 84th Street / New
Utrecht 1890 / From New Utrecht Supplement of Brooklyn Eagle,
Noc. '46 / From "Tide" 1890 / Others as I remember them
Call number: M1975.681.1
Twelve panel, watercolor on cardboard folding panorama, dated 1949
by Carrie S. Cropsey.
Large poster announcing the sale of a farm and all its furnishings
Brooklyn Historical Society
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Call number: M1975.1006.1
Lithograph by George Hayward of the Remsen Farm House
Call number: M1975.1462.2
Published by "D. T. Valentine's Manual" for 1858, with several views of
this farmhouse and of the Vechte-Cortelyou farmhouse.
Oliver Hazard Perry drawings
Bergen house prints
Maps
Farm line map of the city of Brooklyn: from official records and
surveys
Call number: Atlas (8)1874
Detailed estate and old farm line atlas of the city of Brooklyn
Call number: Atlas (24)1880
Farm and woodland of Robt. B. Lefferts
Call number: Bergen-[1862].Fl
Farm and property line map of Twenty-sixth ward of Brooklyn
Call number: Folded Maps B P-1889.Fd.F
Map of Cortelyou farm lots, Garrett Vanderveer, Flatbush
Call number: Bergen-[18--?]g.Fl
Village of Greenfield on David Johnson farm, Flatbush
Call number: Bergen-[185-?]l.Fl
Martense farm, 36th to 41st St., 9th Ave. to 13th Ave., Brooklyn
Call number: B P-[189-?]Fl.F
Map of the “Hunter fly farm” in the 9 ward of the city of Brooklyn
Call number: B P-[1850]c.Fl
th
Map of a farm belonging to the heirs of John Meserole, dec’d. (17th
Ward, City of Brooklyn)
Call number: B P-[18--?]o.Fl
Map of the Marway farm belonging to the Manhattan Trust Co. of
N.Y. City, situated in the town of Gravesend, Kings County, New
York
Call number: B P-[1884].Fl
Brooklyn Historical Society
brooklynhistory.org
Map of land of Samuel Fleet dec[ease]d situated at Bay Ridge in
the town of New Utrecht and County of Kings
Call number: Bergen-1869a.Fl
Map of land of heirs of John Ditmars
Call number: Bergen-1877.c.Fl
Map of H.B. Pierrepont’s farm in Brooklyn: as surveyed 21st May
1820
Call number: Pierrepont-1856.Fl H.B.
Map of the north farm of Leffert Lefferts
Call number: B P-[1877].Fl.RA
Map of land of George Kouwenhoven, situated in the town of
Flatlands in the county of Kings
Call number: Bergen-1868.Fl.RA
Map of farm at Fort Hamilton in the town of New Utrecht
Call number: B P-[1834]f.Fl
Map of land of Phebe Cowenhoven situated in the town of New
Utrecht in the county of Kings
Call number: Bergen-1852a.Fl
Map of farm and other pieces of land belonging to the estate of
Nicholas N. Wyckoff
Call number: B P-1847.Fl.RA
Map of a farm belonging to the heirs of Peter Calyer
Call number: B P-[1848?].Fl
Map of part of the Suydam farm belonging to William Coit, situated
in the 18th Ward in the City of Brooklyn
Call number: B P-[1857].Fl
Farm belonging to the heirs of Peter Calyer, Greenpoint
Call number: B P-[1848]a.Fl c.2
Lots known as the Greenpoint farm
Call number: B P-[18--?].Fl.RA 814
Farm belonging to heirs of Peter Meserole
Call number: B P-[1845]a.Fl
Proposed exchange between Bennet and Bogert
Call number: Bergen-1881.Fl
308 lots Bergen estate
Brooklyn Historical Society
brooklynhistory.org
Call number: B P-[1899?].Fl.F
City of Brooklyn/village of Williamsburg with farm lines
Call number: B A-1846a.Fl
Land of heirs of Van Brunt
Call number: Bergen-1953.Fl
Farms owned by Bergens at Gowanus in 1825
Call number: B P-[1825?].Fl and B P-[1825?]a.Fl
932 lots part of Bergen estate
Call number: B P-[1888]a.Fd
Farm belonging to heirs of John Meserole
Call number: B P-1852a.Fl.F
814 lots known as the Greenpoint farm
Call number: B P-[1839].Fl.F
Land of Bergens
Call number: Bergen-1854a.Fl
Properties in Sunset Park and Williamsburg
Call number: Bergen-[1869?].Fl
Books
Of Cabbages and Kings County: Agriculture and the Formation of
Modern Brooklyn
Call number: F129.B7 .L6 1999
A comprehensive historical study of the origins of agriculture in Brooklyn
and its development over time as Kings County urbanized.
How the Farm Pays
Call number: S561.5.C76 1884
Detailed information from a Long Island farmer and a Brooklyn gardener
on how to cultivate land, cattle, plants, and so forth.
A History of Agriculture in the State of New York
Call number: S451.N56 H4 1933
This volume focuses on the social aspects of farming practice, and “has
been written for the farmer’s fireside, not the study, classroom, or
office.” Its narrative spans from “the early settlements” until the
nineteenth century. Written at the request of the State Agricultural
Society.
Farm changes on Long Island
Brooklyn Historical Society
brooklynhistory.org
Call number: S561.6.L8 K53 1967
1967 Long Island Historical Society pamphlet describing the early days
of farming life on Long Island.
The John and Garret Baxter journals
Call number: F129.B7.F53.1955 (6 volumes)
Extracts from the Journal of John Baxter
Call number: F129.B7.F529.1943
Typescript versions of the original Baxter journals (ARC.257), which are
too fragile for regular research use. The subjects covered by the Baxter
journals include farming and agriculture and market transactions.
Extracts from Gabriel Furman’s Notes and Memoranda Relating to
Brooklyn
Call number: F129.B7 F87 1953
A selection of typescript entries from Volumes 2, 3, and 4 of Furman’s
Notes and Memoranda (see ARC.190, above).
Brooklyn Historical Society
brooklynhistory.org