The Day The Bronx Came To Be

On this date, back in 1639, a Danish farmer named Jonas Bronck purchased 50 acres of land just north of Manhattan.

New York City map highlighting The Bronx borough.
Mural in the Rotunda of the Bronx County Courthouse depicting Jonas Bronck arriving to the territory that would one day bear his name. The work was created in the  1930s by artist James Monroe Hewlett.

Describing his new home Bronck wrote: “The invisible hand of the Almighty Father, surely guided me to this beautiful country, a land covered with virgin forest and unlimited opportunities. It is a veritable paradise and needs but the industrious hand of man to make it the finest and most beautiful region in all the world.” – Jonas Bronck

Not all was bliss. Following his settlement tensions with the native people rose. Agreements were reached that ensured Jonas his continued existence in the territory until his death in 1643.

A peace treaty was signed on April 22, 1642, at Bronck’s homestead between Dutch authorities and the Wecquaesgeek sachems Ranaqua and Tackamuck.

A stream of water that ran through Bronck’s farm became known as the Bronx River. Later in time when the territory was annexed to the the City and County of New York in 1874 the borough was named after the river. That is the reason why the borough is referred to as “The” Bronx.

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