Gerretsen's Mill at Gravesend, L. I., also known as Johannes Gerritsen's Mill and the Whitney mill, derived its name from a 1750s Dutch miller in the area of Marine park, Brooklyn. The mill was situated near what is now known as Garritson's Creek and Mill Pond, formerly referred to as the Strome Kil. The origin of the name can be traced back to historical references, including an Indian deed mentioning land belonging to Hugh Garretson, likely referring to the same location. The farm was parceled to Dutch settler Wolfert Gerritse van Couwenhoven (1 May 1579 – 1662),an original patentee, director of bouweries (farms), and a founder of the New Netherland colony.[1] The three-hundred-year-old mill was destroyed by fire in 1935 by arson.[2]
The Gerritsen Creek tidal mill in the 19th century
Gerritsen Creek is a short watercourse in Brooklyn, New York City, that empties into Jamaica Bay.[3][4] The creek has been described as one of the "fingers" that formed the original shoreline of Jamaica Bay.[5] The creek lies just beyond the maximum extent of the Wisconsin Glacier.[6] It is listed as the earliest tide mill in North America.[7] Constructed prior to 1756, the mill was erected on the footprint of an earlier structure and featured wooden machinery, leather beltings, and large rotating millstones. Positioned on the periphery of a basin, it bordered the area where the sea water flowed in upon the opening of the floodgate at the dam spanning the narrowest section of the creek. As the water rose to the crest of the dam, the gates closed, creating a reservoir behind them. A manual mechanism, operated by a ratchet wheel, controlled a gate in the sluiceway behind the mill, regulating the flow of water onto the mill wheel as needed.[8][9]:212[10] In recent times the creek has been a dumping ground for recreational boaters detrius.[11][12][13]
Johannes Gerritsen, identified as a miller of Gravesend, is documented in historical records, including his will dated December 20, 1765, found in the New York Surrogate's office. In his will, he bequeathed his estate to his son, Samuel Gerritsen, along with specific legacies to be paid. Johannes Gerritsen's lineage can be linked to Samuel Geretsen, as noted by Tunis G. Bergen in "Early Settlers of Kings County." It is inferred that Johannes Gerritsen was likely a son of Samuel Geretsen, born sometime after 1700.
The tradition of naming children after grandparents, common among Dutch families, is evident in the Gerritsen family, further supporting the connection between Johannes and Samuel Geretsen. Subsequent records, such as the will of Samuel Garritsen probated in 1822, continue to document the family's ownership and involvement in the mill's operation and land ownership in Gravesend. The mill's lineage continues through subsequent generations, as evidenced by the will of Samuel Garritsen, of Gravesend, recorded in Liber 2 of the Kings County Surrogate's office and probated in 1822. In his will, Samuel bequeaths hisgrist mill and farm to his son, John S., while also naming his daughters, Jane and Elizabeth. He appoints his son-in-law, John Lott, and his grandson, Van Brunt Magaw, as executors.
Historians place the original mill at that spot around 1645, it was once considered one of the oldest standing buildings in New York. Legend holds that the predecessor mill stood since before 1645, a notion reinforced by an Indian deed referencing Barren Island across the bay. The deed describes the island as surrounded by the vast ocean, with its westernmost point branching into a river flowing northward toward the land owned by Hugh Garretson. This river is presumed to be the same creek where the mill is situated.[15]
Van Brunt Magaw, born September 7, 1783, and died March 18, 1831, was the son of Colonel Robert Magaw, a distinguished Revolutionary War officer, and Marritje, daughter of Colonel Rutgert Van Brunt. Van Brunt Magaw married Adriana, daughter of Louwrens Voorhees and Jannetie, daughter of Samuel Garritson, on November 2, 1811.
Elizabeth Garritsen married John Lott, the second son of and Catharine Vanderbilt. They resided on the farm purchased by Judge Lott from the heirs of Philip Nagel, which he later bequeathed to John Lott upon his death. Their son, Samuel G. Lott, was the father of Theodore Lott.
The lineage of the mill's ownership further unfolds with the probate of John S. Gerretson's will on September 2, 1864, recorded in Liber 28. John S. Gerretson, identified as a miller of Gravesend, leaves his farm, meadows, and mill to his son, Samuel J. Gerretsen, and another farm acquired from the Stillwells to his son, Simon C. Gerretsen.
Samuel J. Gerretsen's will, recorded on October 31, 1876, and made on May 4 of the same year, reveals the continuation of the family's legacy. He bequeaths all his property, both real and personal, to his two daughters, Mary C., widow of Abraham Ditmas Polhemus, and Helen B., wife of Stephen H. Herriman, both residing in Brooklyn.
The genealogical record of the family provides insight into Samuel J. Gerretsen's marriage to Jane, daughter of Jacob Van Brunt and Esther Vanderbilt, born May 14, 1803, and died November 20th, 1861. Their children include Mary C., born July 7, 1822, who married Abraham D. Polhemus in 1846, and Helen B., born November 15, 1824, who married Stephen H. Herriman on April 25, 1853.
The ownership of the property underwent further changes over the years. On December 20, 1864, Samuel J. Gerretsen transferred a portion of the property to his son-in-law, Abraham Ditmas Polhemus. Subsequently, on November 14, 1879, the executors of Abraham D. Polhemus's will sold the premises he had acquired to Helen V. B. Herriman. Following the passing of Stephen H. Herriman, who inherited his wife's interest in the property, it was bequeathed to his three children: William S. Herriman, Maria Bell Hazen, and Helen Herriman. Upon William S. Herriman's demise, he left his share of the Gravesend property to his sister, Maria Bell Hazen.
1900s
In 1899, Mrs. Hazen and Miss Herriman sold the estate to the Honorable William C. Whitney. Under his ownership, the property underwent extensive renovations, reconstruction, and landscaping, transforming it into one of the most remarkable country estates in the vicinity of New York. Upon William C. Whitney's passing, his son, Harry Payne Whitney, inherited the property and assumed ownership.
Until the early twentieth century, the area remained undeveloped except for a few squatters’ bungalows clustered at the foot of Gerritsen Avenue.[16] The mill remained in use for hundreds of years, until 1890. There were early proponents of preserving heritage buildings who lobbied for its preservation.[17]MayorJimmy "Beau James" Walker was brought to the site to view the structure.[9]:212 However, no efforts were made, and the abandoned building was burned by an arsonist in 1935.[18]
Coney Island Creek is a 1.8-mile-long (2.9 km) tidal inlet in Brooklyn, New York City. It was created from a series of streams and inlets by land filling and digging activities starting in the mid-18th century which, by the 19th century, became a 3-mile-long (4.8 km) continual strait and a partial mudflat connecting Gravesend Bay and Sheepshead Bay, separating Coney Island from the mainland. The strait was closed off in the early 20th century due to further land development and later construction projects. Today only the western half of Coney Island Creek exists.
The New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary, also known as the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, is in the northeastern states of New Jersey and New York on the East Coast of the United States. The system of waterways of the Port of New York and New Jersey forms one of the most intricate natural harbors in the world and one of the busiest ports of the United States. The harbor opens onto the New York Bight in the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast and Long Island Sound to the northeast.
Robert Magaw was an American politician and lawyer from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, who served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the U.S. Revolutionary War.
Gerritsen Beach is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, located between Sheepshead Bay to the west and Marine Park to the east. The area is served by Brooklyn Community Board 15. The population of the neighborhood is 4,797 as of the 2020 U.S. census.
Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west; Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north; Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east; and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Sheepshead Bay is abutted by the neighborhoods of Brighton Beach and Homecrest to the west; Midwood to the north; and Gerritsen Beach to the east.
South Brooklyn is a historic term for a section of the former City of Brooklyn – now the New York City borough of Brooklyn – encompassing what are now the Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Sunset Park and Red Hook neighborhoods. It was named for its location along the waterfront that was the southern border of the original Village of Brooklyn, and has remained widely used as a colloquialism despite it no longer being the southernmost point of the borough. It should not be confused with the geographic southern region of the modern borough of Brooklyn, which includes the neighborhoods of Gravesend, Seagate, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, and Bergen Beach.
Marine Park is a public park located in the neighborhood of Marine Park in Brooklyn, New York. Its 798 acres (3.2 km2) surround the westernmost inlet of Jamaica Bay. Most of the land for Marine Park was donated to New York City to be turned into public park land by the Whitney family in 1920 and by Frederic B. Pratt and Alfred Tredway White, who jointly donated 150 acres (0.61 km2) in 1917. The land donated consists of the area between the current day Fillmore Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue and East 38th Street. Originally almost 2,000 acres (810 ha), over half of which has been donated to the National Park Service as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, the park is mainly a fertile salt marsh which is supplied with freshwater from Gerritsen Creek.
Community boards of Brooklyn are New York City community boards in the borough of Brooklyn, which are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts that advise on land use and zoning, participate in the city budget process, and address service delivery in their district.
Marine Park is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood lies between Flatlands and Mill Basin to the east, and Gerritsen Beach, Midwood, and Sheepshead Bay to the south and west. It is mostly squared off in area by Gerritsen Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, Avenue U and Kings Highway. The neighborhood's eponymous park is the largest public park in Brooklyn. Charles Downing Lay won a silver medal in town planning at the 1936 Olympics for the planning of Marine Park.
Brooklyn Paper is a weekly newspaper that covers news related exclusively to the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Brooklyn Paper covers news and cultural events throughout the borough, using different mastheads for neighborhoods such as Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Bay Ridge, etc. In addition to news coverage, the paper also publishes a weekly entertainment guide entitled GO Brooklyn. It was founded in 1978.
The Atlantic Yacht Club is a family-oriented yacht club located on the shores of Gravesend Bay in south Brooklyn. A storied member of the New York sailing community, the club is perhaps best known for its contributions to New York sailing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it featured prominently as one of the leading yacht clubs of its day.
The Hendrick I. Lott House is a historic home located at 1940 East 36th Street between Fillmore Avenue and Avenue S, in Marine Park, Brooklyn, New York City. Lott House, one of the oldest Dutch Colonial houses in Brooklyn, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a New York City designated landmark. The house remains structurally sound and virtually unchanged from the time Hendrick Lott constructed it in 1800, incorporating a section of the 1720 original homestead built by his grandfather, Johannes Lott.
The Polhemus Memorial Clinic in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York City was built in 1897 as an extension of a hospital for the poor on the corner of Henry and Amity streets. It was officially inaugurated January 5, 1898. Throughout most of its lifetime, 1897 to July 2008, it was part of the Long Island College Hospital (LICH). Joseph Korom, the author of The American Skyscraper (2008), considers the eight-story tower to be the first skyscraper hospital ever built. The clinic and adjacent row houses were designated part of the Cobble Hill Historic District in 1988.
Each of New York City's five counties has its own criminal court system and District Attorney, the chief public prosecutor who is directly elected by popular vote. Charles J. Hynes, a Democrat, was the District Attorney of Kings County from 1990 to 2013. Brooklyn has 16 City Council members, the largest number of any of the five boroughs. The Brooklyn Borough Government includes a borough government president as well as a court, library, borough government board, head of borough government, deputy head of borough government and deputy borough government president.
White Cap Marine Towing and Salvage is a small marine salvage firm based in New York City. The firm operates out of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, a small inlet that connects to the much larger Jamaica Bay. The firm is owned by Jack and Bernie Schachner, and specializes in rescuing or salvaging the smaller recreational vessels and smaller fishing vessels that operate out of the smaller inlets around Jamaica Bay. White Cap is also a franchisee of Sea Tow, the leading marine assistance services company. The National Park Service employs the firm to remove abandoned craft from the ecologically protected Gerritsen Creek, part of the 25,000-acre (100 km2) Gateway National Recreation Area.
Gerritsen Creek is a short watercourse in Brooklyn, New York City, that empties into Jamaica Bay. The creek has been described as one of the "fingers" that formed the original shoreline of Jamaica Bay. The creek lies just beyond the maximum extent of the Wisconsin Glacier.
Kaiser Park is a public park on the northwestern coast of Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City. It abuts Coney Island Creek, Gravesend Bay, and Coney Island Creek Park and is across Coney Island Creek from Calvert Vaux Park and Six Diamonds Park.
↑ "History of Marine Park". Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-08-07. Around 1920 the creek north of Avenue U was converted into an underground storm drain.
↑ Thomas J. Campanella (2001). "The Lost Creek". Terrain.org. Archived from the original on 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2014-08-08. "They" were the hardy Gerritsen clan, among the first European settlers in the region. According to Teunis Bergen's Register of the Early Settlers of Kings County (1881), the Gerritsens had for many years "owned a farm and the tide-mill . . . on the Strome Kil." The Gerritsens built their industrial plant in the early seventeenth century, and it operated continuously until the 1890s.
↑ Nick Corasanti (2013-08-16). "When There's Trouble at Sea, This Captain Sees His Paycheck". New York Times. New York City. p.A16. Archived from the original on 2013-08-18. Retrieved 2013-08-16. Captain Jack, as he is universally known at Gateway Marina in Sheepshead Bay, is a professional boat salvager and, along with his brother, Capt. Bernie Schachner, is a co-owner of White Cap Marine Towing and Salvage Inc. Summer is their busy season.
1 2 Gary Buiso (2008-06-27). "Abandoned boats plucked from Jamaica Bay". Brooklyn Daily. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-08-16. Early in the morning of June 17, the National Park Service was joined by Sheepshead Bay-based White Cap Marine Towing and Salvage, a local business hoping to do its part to help the environment.
1 2 Richard Pyle (2008-06-22). "National park bay in NYC is nautical graveyard: Scores of boats litter the shores and lie submerged in shallow waters". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2013-08-16. Cruising Gerritsen Creek with Capt. Bernie Schachner at the helm of his 26-foot "emergency response" boat White Cap Salvor, Daskalakis pointed out a half-dozen abandoned boats lying in weeds along the shore. Up ahead, Schachner's brother and business partner, Capt. Jack Schachner, maneuvered another launch so his crewman could attach a line to a shabby motorboat on the beach.
↑ Mara Gay (2014-03-02). "National Weather Alerts Bleed Into Coast Guard Radio Channel". Wall Street Journal. New York City. Retrieved 2014-08-06. Captain Jack Schachner, owner of Brooklyn-based White Cap Marine Towing and Salvage Inc., a Sea Tow franchise, said the temporary fix negotiated between the agencies is less than comforting. There would be a problem, he said, "If you happen to be calling a mayday while this thing was happening, and it was your last shot at getting help."
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