=Greater New York.=--In 1830, the population of Manhattan was 202,000;
in 1850, 515,000; in 1860, 805,000; in 1870, 942,000; in 1880,
1,250,000; in 1892, 1,801,739; and is now rapidly approaching three
million. Brooklyn, which in 1800 had a population of only 2,000, now
contributes, as the "Borough of Brooklyn," almost two million. So that
Greater New York is the centre of about six million of people within a
radius of fifteen miles including her New Jersey suburbs with almost
five millions under one municipality.
=Brooklyn.=--In June, 1636, was bought the first land on Long Island;
and in 1667 the Ferry Town, opposite New York, was known by the name
"Breuckelen," signifying "broken land," but the name was not generally
accepted until after the Revolution. Columbia Heights, Prospect Park,
Clinton Avenue, St. Mark's Place and Stuyvesant Heights are among the
favored spots for residence.
* * *
Behind us lies the teeming town
With lust of gold grown frantic;
Before us glitters o'er the bay
The peaceable Atlantic.
_Charles Mackay_
* * *
=Jersey City= occupies the ground once known as Paulus Hook, the farm
of William Kieft, Director General of the Dutch West India Company.
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