HISTORICAL.

History of Wall street

TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE PRESENT CENTURY.

BY D. T. V.

THE principal financial mart of the Western continent has a history as curious in its early beginnings and as interesting from its connection with the advancement of the city of New York as any other thoroughfare in the city. We are enabled to trace it, step by step, from its original condition as an open common through its successive stages of progress, until its culmination in modern times as the throne of the American Mammon, whence flow the edicts of the money god through all the land.

As is well known, the Dutch West India Company, which purchased the island of Manhattan from the natives, was liberal in granting to settlers suitable parcels of land for their habitations, gardens, and farms; but no considerable tract for farming purposes was granted below Wall street. The lower part of the island was appropriated to the city proper, and, as occasion offered, was granted in suitable lots to settlers who engaged to make improvements. During twenty-five years subsequent to the advent of Christian families these building sites were confined to a few lanes or thoroughfares adjacent to the fort, on the south point of the island, and along the East river in the same vicinity. During that interval of a quarter of a century the ungranted land below Wall street laid in common, being known in the Dutch language as T'SCHAAPE WAYTIE, or the Sheep Pasture, its natural condition being partly rolling upland and partly meadow of a swampy character.

The outlines of the Sheep Pasture are pretty clearly defined from the grants and conveyances of those early times, and may be generally stated to have been confined within the limits of which the present following streets form a boundary: New street on the west; Beaver street, from New street to William street, on the south; William street, from Beaver street to Wall street, on the east; and Wall street, from William street to New street, on the north; its contents varying but little from 15 acres.

The convenience of this public common for purposes of pasturage induced its reservation for some years after the gradual progress of the town had foreshadowed the necessity of its appropriation for improvement. This at last, however, came, and the meadow land in the valley, along the line of the present Broad street was taken up for tanneries, and the remaining part was soon after granted, in several large parcels, to persons of influence with the powers of State, apparently on speculation. It is not necessary for the purposes of this essay to enumerate these divisions, except to say that a great part of the northerly portion, extending along the line of Wall street, was granted to the officiating clergyman in the Dutch church, Domine Drissius. His grant bounded upon the farm-fence of the Damen estate, which ran parallel with and a few feet north of the present Wall street. It extended from the present line of New street to William street, and is described in the grant as "in the place called the Schaape Waytie to south of the land of Jan Jansen Damen, containing in breadth on the west side 21 rods, on the east side 15 rods; in length on the north side 33 rods, as granted by Governor Stuyvesant in 1653."* The subsequent establishment of streets left comparatively little of this property for building purposes.

The line of the Damen farm ran parallel with the present northerly line of Wall street, from Broadway to William street; thence it formed what was called an outhoeck, or an oblong projection, extending along the easterly bounds of the Sheep Pasture or present William street to near Beaver street; then eastwardly some distance along the latter; and then along the rear of the gardens, &c., fronting on the present Pearl street, as far as Maiden lane.

West of New street the original grantee of the land through

The Dutch rod was about 13 feet.

CORNER OF EXCHANGE PLACE AND BROAD STREET, 1690 (FIRST IMPROVE

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