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BROOKLYN

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Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 649 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BROOKLYN , formerly a See also:

city of New See also:York See also:state, U.S.A., but since 1898 a See also:borough of New York City (q.v.), situated at the S.W. extremity of See also:Long See also:Island. It is conterminous with See also:Kings See also:county, and is bounded N. by the borough of Queens, from which it is in See also:part separated by See also:Newtown See also:Creek; E. by the borough of Queens and See also:Jamaica See also:Bay; S. by the See also:Atlantic Ocean; W. by See also:Gravesend Bay, the Narrows, Upper New York Bay and See also:East See also:river, which See also:separate it from Staten Island, See also:Jersey City and the borough of Manhattan. It has a See also:water-front of 33 m. and extends over an See also:area of 77.62 sq. m. Pop. (186o) 279,122; (1870) 419,921; (188o) 599,495; (1890, then Kings county) 838,547; (1900) 1,166,582; (1905, state See also:census) 1,358,686; (1910) 1,634.351. In 1900 only 310,501, or 26.6%, were native-See also:born of native See also:white parents; 355,697 were See also:foreign-born, 18,367 were negroes, and 1206 were See also:Chinese. Out of 332,715 See also:males of voting See also:age (21 years and over), 15,415 were illiterate (unable to write), and of these 14,159 were foreign-born. Brooklyn is connected with Manhattan by three See also:bridges across the East river—the lowest, known as the Brooklyn, opened in 1883; another, known as the See also:Williamsburg or East River See also:bridge, opened in 1903; and a third, the Manhattan, was opened in 1909. And a See also:tunnel directly across from the See also:south See also:terminus of Manhattan was completed in 1907. Ferries ply at frequent intervals between numerous points on its See also:west water-front and points in Manhattan; there is also See also:ferry connexion with Jersey City. Brooklyn is served directly by the Long Island railway; by about fifty See also:regular See also:coast-See also:wise and trans-Atlantic steamship lines; and by elevated or See also:surface See also:car lines on a large number of its streets. Subway lines, begun in 1904, connect Brooklyn with the subway See also:system of Manhattan.

Streets and Buildings.—The surface of Brooklyn in the west See also:

section, from the See also:lower course of the East river to Gravesend Bay, varies in See also:elevation from a few inches to nearly 200 ft. above See also:sea-level, the highest points being in Prospect See also:Park; but steep See also:street grades even in this section are rare, and elsewhere the surface is either only slightly undulating or, as in the east and south, See also:flat. Most of the streets are from 6o to roo ft. wide. The See also:principal business thoroughfare is See also:Fulton Street, which begins at Fulton ferry nearly under the Brooklyn bridge, runs to City See also:Hall Park, and thence across the See also:north central section of the borough. In the City Hall Park are the old city hall (now the borough hall), the hall of records, and the county See also:court-See also:house. Two blocks to the north (on See also:Washington Street) is the See also:post-See also:office, a See also:fine See also:granite Romanesque See also:building. The manufacturing and See also:shipping districts are mostly along the west water-front. Here, on Wallabout Bay at the See also:bend of the East river to the westward, is the New York See also:navy yard, the principal navy yard of the See also:United States, established in 18o1, and commonly but in-correctly called the Brooklyn navy yard. It occupies altogether about 144 acres, contains a See also:trophy park, See also:parade grounds, the United States See also:Naval See also:Lyceum (founded 1833), See also:officers' quarters, See also:barracks, and three large dry docks (respectively 564, 465 and 307 ft. long), foundries and See also:machine shops. A naval See also:hospital (having See also:accommodation for about 500 patients) to the east is separated from the navy yard by the largest and most interesting of Brooklyn's markets, the Wallabout (about 45 acres). Thebuildings of this See also:market are Dutch in See also:style and have a See also:quaint See also:clock See also:tower. A little to the north of the navy yard are immense refineries of See also:sugar. About 2 M. to the south, opposite See also:Governor's Island, is the Atlantic See also:Basin of 40 acres, with a wharfage of about 3 M. and See also:brick and granite warehouses used largely for the storage of See also:grain.

A little farther south, on Gowanus Bay, is another basin, the See also:

Erie, of 161 acres, protected by a See also:breakwater r m. in length, occupied by piers, warehouses, See also:lumber depots and some of the largest dry docks in the United States; it also provides See also:protection during See also:winter to hundreds of See also:canal boats. In this vicinity, too, are several yards for building yachts, launches and other boats. At the lower end of the west water-front, facing the Narrows, are a United States See also:reservation and the See also:harbour defences of Fort See also:Hamilton. For a considerable portion of its inhabitants Brooklyn is only a See also:place of See also:residence, their business interests being in the borough of Manhattan; hence Brooklyn has been called the " city of homes " and the " See also:dormitory of New York." Residential districts with social lines more or less distinctly See also:drawn are numerous. The See also:oldest is that on Brooklyn (or See also:Columbia) Heights, west of City Hall Park, rising abruptly from the river to a height of from 70 to 100 ft., and commanding a delightful view of the harbour. Here are hotels, large apartment-houses, many private residences and a number of clubs, including the Brooklyn, the See also:Crescent, the Hamilton, the See also:Jefferson and the Germania. On Park Slope, immediately west of Prospect Park, and St See also:Mark's See also:Avenue, in another part of the borough, are also attractive residential districts. The south See also:shore of the borough has various summer See also:pleasure resorts, of which Coney Island is the most popular. Parks and Cemeteries.—One of the most attractive features of Brooklyn is Prospect Park, occupying about 516 acres of high ground in the west central part of, the borough, on a site made memorable by the See also:battle of Long Island. Its large variety of trees and shrubs, including See also:oak, See also:hickory, See also:elm, See also:maple, See also:chestnut, See also:birch, ash, See also:cedar, See also:pine, See also:larch and See also:sumach, its See also:flower gardens, a See also:palm house, ponds, a See also:lake of 61 acres for boating, See also:skating and See also:curling, a parade ground of 40 acres for other athletic See also:sports, a See also:menagerie, and numerous pieces of statuary, are among its See also:objects of See also:interest or beauty. From the See also:southern entrance to this park, Ocean Parkway, a fine See also:boulevard, no ft. wide and planted with six rows of trees, extends 51 M. south to Seaside Park (15 acres), on See also:Brighton See also:Beach, Coney Island. From the same entrance Fort Hamilton Parkway extends 41 M. south-east to Fort Hamilton, and to Dyker Beach Park (144 acres) which See also:face the lower end of the Narrows; and from Fort Hamilton, Shore Road and Bay See also:Ridge Parkway extend north 42 M. to Bay Ridge Park overlooking Upper New York Bay.

From the See also:

northern entrance to Prospect Park, Eastern Parkway, another fine boulevard, 200 ft. wide, extends east 22 M. to a point from which Rockaway Parkway runs 3 M. south-east to Canarsie Beach Park (40 acres), on Jamaica Bay; and extensions of Eastern Parkway run north-east through Highland Park (55 acres), to Brooklyn See also:Forest Park (535 acres, on the border of the borough of Queens), abounding in beautiful trees and delightful views. See also:Half a mile east of the borough hall is Washington or Fort See also:Greene Park (30 acres), laid out on the site of See also:earth-See also:works (known as Fort Greene) constructed during the See also:War of See also:Independence, and commanding See also:good views. See also:Greenwood See also:cemetery, one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the United States, a m. east of Prospect Park, occupies about 478 acres. Among the principal monuments are those erected to See also:Roger See also:Williams, S.F.B. See also:Morse, See also:Elias See also:Howe, De Witt See also:Clinton (See also:colossal See also:bronze statue by See also:Henry See also:Kirke See also:Brown), Henry See also:Ward See also:Beecher, See also:Peter See also:Cooper, See also:Horace See also:Greeley, Henry Bergh, Henry See also:George and See also:James See also:Gordon See also:Bennett. At the See also:main entrance is a beautiful gateway (of elaborately wrought brown See also:stone), 142 ft. wide and having a central tower roo ft. in height. Along the north-east border of the borough are See also:Cypress Hills cemetery (400 acres), adjoining Brooklyn Forest Park, and the cemetery of the Evergreens (about 375 acres), adjoining Highland Park and partly in the borough of Queens. In the plaza at the northern entrance to Prospect Park is a soldiers' and sailors' memorial See also:arch (8o ft. in width and 7 r ft. in height), adorned with high-reliefs of See also:Lincoln and See also:Grant on horseback (by O'See also:Donovan and See also:Eakins) and with three large bronze See also:groups (by See also:Frederick See also:MacMonnies). Immediately within the park there is a statue (also by MacMonnies) of J. S. T. Stranahan (1808-1898), who did more than any other See also:man for the development of Brooklyn's system of parks and boulevards.

On the slope of Lookout See also:

Hill (185 ft.) within the park is a See also:shaft erected in 1895 to the memory of the See also:Maryland soldiers who valiantly defended the See also:rear of the See also:American See also:army at the battle of Long Island. A bronze statue of See also:Abraham Lincoln overlooks the lake. In Fort Greene Park is a See also:monument to the memory of the soldiers who died in the See also:British See also:prison See also:ships during the War of Independence, many of them having been buried in a vault below. Facing the borough hall is a statue in bronze (by J. Q. A. Ward) of Henry Ward Beecher, mounted on a granite See also:pedestal with a figure at one See also:side to commemorate Beecher's sympathy for the slave. A fine bronze statue of See also:Alexander Hamilton (by W. O. See also:Partridge, b. 1861) stands at the entrance of the Hamilton See also:Club in Clinton Street and one of U. S.

Grant (also by Partridge) stands at the entrance of the See also:

Union See also:League Club in See also:Bedford Avenue. See also:Education.—The Brooklyn See also:Institute of Arts and Sciences embraces twenty-six departments, of which those of See also:music, See also:philology and the fine arts have each more than loco members; the See also:total membership of all departments in 1906 was 5894. The museum building of this institution is in Institute Park, which is separated from Prospect Park on the north-east by See also:Flatbush Avenue. It contains, besides paintings and statuary, See also:special collections for service in nearly all of the departments; among its purely See also:art collections the most notable is that of J. J. J. See also:Tissot's water-See also:colour drawings, to illustrate the See also:life of See also:Christ. Since 1890 the Institute has received appropriations from the city, but it is maintained chiefly by private contributions. It is the outgrowth of the Apprentices' Library Association, founded in 1824, of which See also:General See also:Lafayette laid the corner-stone on the 4th of See also:July of that See also:year. In 1888 See also:Franklin W. See also:Hooper (b. 1851), who did much to increase the efficiency of the See also:work of the Institute, became director.

See also:

Pratt Institute, founded in 1887 by See also:Charles Pratt (1830-1891), and the residuary legatee of his wife, who died in 1907, is one of the most successful See also:manual and See also:industrial training See also:schools in the See also:country, and its See also:kindergarten normal is one of the best known in the United States. The See also:Polytechnic Institute, opened in 1855, is a high-grade school of See also:science and liberal arts. It has two general departments, the See also:college of arts and See also:engineering and the preparatory school, which are conducted independently of one another. In connexion with the college there is See also:provision for See also:graduate study and for See also:night courses, and there are teachers' courses to which See also:women are admitted. The See also:Packer Collegiate Institute, opened as the successor of the Brooklyn See also:Female See also:Academy, in x854, and endowed by Mrs Harriet L. Packer, an institution for women, has See also:primary, preparatory, See also:academic and collegiate departments. Adelphi College, opened in 1896, is for both sexes and gives special See also:attention to normal training; it is the outgrowth of Adelphi Academy, founded in 1869, now the preparatory See also:department. St See also:Francis' College, opened in 1858, and St See also:John's College, opened in 187o, are institutions maintained by See also:Roman Catholics. Here, too, are the See also:law school of St See also:Lawrence University, the Long Island Hospital Medical College, with a training school for nurses, the Brooklyn College of See also:Pharmacy and several schools of music. Brooklyn's public schools See also:rank especially high; among them there is a commercial high school and a manual training high school. Among the larger See also:libraries of the borough are the Brooklyn public library, those of the Long Island See also:Historical Society, on Brooklyn Heights, of Pratt Institute, and of the See also:King's County Medical Society, and a good law library. The Brooklyn Daily See also:Eagle, which occupies an attractive building near the borough hall, has been a newspaper of strong See also:influence in the community.

It was established in 1841 as a Democratic See also:

organ, and Walt See also:Whitman was its editor for about a year during its See also:early See also:history. Brooklyn is well provided with charitable institutions, and has long been known as the " city of churches," probably from the famous clergymen who have lived there. Among 'them were Henry Ward Beecher, pastor of See also:Plymouth See also:church (Congregational) from 1847 to 1887; Lyman See also:Abbott, pastor of the same ,church from 1887 to 1898; See also:Thomas De Witt See also:Talmage, pastor of the Brooklyn See also:Tabernacle (Presbyterian) from 1869 to 1894; See also:Richard See also:Salter See also:Storrs (1821-19oo), pastor of the church of the Pilgrims (Congregational) from 1846 to 1899; and See also:Theodore L. Cuyler (1822-1909), pastor of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian church from 186o to 189o. Manufactures and See also:Commerce.—The borough of Brooklyn is one of the most important manufacturing centres in the United States, most of the factories being located along or near the East river north of the Brooklyn bridge. The total value of the manufactured products in 1890 was $270,823,754 and in 1900, $342,127,124, an increase during the See also:decade of 26.3%. In 1905 the total value of the borough's manufactured product (under the factory system) was $373,462,930, or x5% of the total manufactured product of the state of New York. Brooklyn's largest manufacturing See also:industry is the refining of sugar, about one-half of the sugar consumed in the United States being refined here; in 1900 the product of the sugar and See also:molasses refining establishments was valued at $77,942,997. Brooklyn is also an important place for the milling of See also:coffee and spices (the 1905 product was valued at $15,274,092), the building of small boats, and the manufacture of foundry and machine See also:shop products, See also:malt liquors, barrels, shoes, chemicals, paints, cordage, twine, and See also:hosiery and other knitted goods. Of its large commerce, grain is the See also:chief commodity; it is estimated that about four-fifths of that exported from the See also:port of New York is shipped from here, and the borough's grain See also:elevators have an estimated storage capacity of about 20,000,000 bushels. The water-See also:supply system is owned and operated by the borough; the water is derived from streams flowing southward in the sparsely settled area east of the borough, and also from driven See also:wells in the same region; it is pumped by ten engines at Ridgewood to a See also:reservoir having a capacity of about 300,000,000 gallons, while a part of it is re-pumped to a high service reservoir near the north entrance to Prospect Park for the service of the most elevated part of the borough. Besides this system some towns in the south section recently annexed have their own water-supply.

History.—The first See also:

settlement within the See also:present limits of Brooklyn was made in 1636, when some Dutch farmers took up their residence along the shore of Gowanus Bay. About the same See also:time other Dutch farmers founded Flatlands (at first called See also:Amersfoort), on Jamaica Bay, and a few See also:Walloons founded Wallabout, where the navy yard now is. In 1642 a ferry was established across East river from the present See also:foot of Fulton Street, and a settlement See also:grew up here which was known as The Ferry. The next year See also:Lady See also:Deborah See also:Moody with some followers from New See also:England founded Gravesend near the southern extremity of the borough. Finally, in the year 1645, a settlement was established near the site of the present borough hall, and was called Breuckelen (also spelled Breucklyn, Breuckland, Brucklyn, Broucklyn, Brookland and See also:Brookline) until about the See also:close of the 18th See also:century, when its See also:orthography became fixed as Brooklyn. The name, Breuckelen, meaning See also:marsh See also:land, seems to have been suggested by the resemblance of the situation of the settlement to that of Breuckelen, See also:Holland. Of the other towns which were later united to See also:form the borough, New See also:Utrecht was settled about 1650, Flatbush (at first called. Medwoud, Midwout or Midwood) about 1651, Bushwick and Williamsburg in 166o. All of the settlements were for a long time chiefly agricultural communities. Flatbush was for a few years immediately preceding 1675 the largest; but Brooklyn was the first (1646) to have a township organization, and within a few years Wallabout, Gowanus, The Ferry, and Bedford—a new settlement to the south-east of Wallabout, established in 1662—were included within its See also:jurisdiction. In 1654 the municipal privileges of Brooklyn as well as of two of the other towns were enlarged. but with Dutch See also:rule there was general discontent, and when, in 1664, See also:Colonel Richard See also:Nicolls came to overthrow it and establish See also:English rule these towns offered no resistance.

Nicolls erected the region composed of Long Island, Staten Island and Westchester into a county under the name of See also:

Yorkshire, and divided it into three See also:ridings, of which Staten Island, the present county of Kings, and the See also:town of Newtown in Queens, formed one. In 1683 the. present county of Kings was organized by the first colonial legislature. During the War of Independence the chief .event was the battle of Long Island, fought on the 27th of See also:August 1776. In 1816, when the See also:population of the town of Brooklyn was about 4500, its most populous section was incorporated as a See also:village; and in 1834, when its population had increased to 23,310, the whole town was incorporated as a city. By 185o its population had increased to 138,882. In 1855 Williamsburg, which had been incorporated as a city in 1851, and the town of Bushwick were annexed. Other annexations followed until the city of Brooklyn was conterminous with Kings county; and finally, on the 1st of See also:January 1898, the city of Brooklyn became a borough of New York City. See S. M. Ostrander, A History of Brooklyn and Kings County (Brooklyn, 1894) ; H. W. B.

See also:

Howard (ed.), History of the City of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, 1893) ; and H. See also:Putnam, Brooklyn, in L. P. See also:Powell's Historic Towns of the See also:Middle States (New York, 1899).

End of Article: BROOKLYN

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