Jennifer Smith's Genealogy Page

Maps of New Amsterdam
and Modern Manhattan

New Amsterdam, ca.1644

Map of New Amsterdam1644 KEY
1 - Heerewegh
2 - Parel Straet
3 - Bever Graft
4 - The Fort
5 - Marektveldt
6 - Brugh Straet
7 - Slyok Steegh
8 - Maiden Lane

9 - Tavern of
Marie du Trieux
10 - Land of
Philip de Truy

Lower Manhattan, ca. 1997

Map of Lower Manhattan1997 KEY
1 - Broadway
2 - Pearl St.
3 - Beaver St.
4 - Old Customs House
5 - Whitehall St.
6 - Bridge St.
7 - Stone St.
8 - Maiden Lane

9 - Fulton St.
10 - Peck Slip
11 - Ann St.
12 - Greenwich Ave.
13 - Battery Park
14 - To Brooklyn Bridge

This is a map of New Amsterdam, about 1644, compiled from Dutch and English records by J.H. Innes. Broadway existed back then (1), as did Maiden Lane (8), Beaver Street (3), Bridge Street (6) (there was actually a little bridge), Pearl Street (2), and a few others. I have marked the roads in black - most of the other grey lines are fences and brooks. The strange shape at the very top is a pond or marsh, probably the southern tip of what later became Collect Pond. Philippe du Trieux's land can be seen shaded in green at the top right (10). The area was called Smit's Vly, or 'Smith's Valley'. His daughter Maria's tavern is further south, right on the shore at the foot of Maiden Lane (9). This is a map of the southern tip of modern Manhattan. As you can see, the shoreline has been extended out so far that most of it isn't even visible on this map. As near as I can figure, the original shoreline ran along present-day Greenwich St. on the Hudson side (12), cut across the top edge of Battery Park in the south (13), and ran up Stone (7) and Pearl (2) Streets along the East River. I have marked a few other streets here in red that seem to have corresponding roads or features on the 1644 map.

Composite Map

Composite Map
Here, you can see the two above maps overlaid. The streets don't match up precisely of course, but I found it surprising just how well the do match after 350 years. Because there are no hard and fast landmarks towards the northern end of the map, it is difficult to get an accurate relative scale. However, it does look like the road just west and south of Philippe's land may have become Ann St. (#11 on the 1997 map), or possibly Fulton (#9), which would put the boundaries approximately at Gold St. to the west and John St. to the south, with the property fronting on the East River (now Pearl St. - #2).

I did read in one document that Philippe sold 500 feet of shoreline land to someone who built a warehouse on what would now be Peck Slip (#10 on the 1997 map). Peck Slip is actually a bit north of where I think Philippe's land would have reached, but it's possible that I am wrong, or that he acquired adjacent land later. In any case, the mention of Peck's Slip is interesting, given the close association between the du Trieux and Peck / Peek families.

View animation of composite

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