Monday, November 26, 2012
Brooklyn Timeline: Red Hook
Posted by Kristin Iversen on Mon, Nov 26, 2012 at 12:32 PM
Page 2 of 9
1636: Roode Hoek
Red Hook was settled by the Dutch in 1636 and was one of the original settlements in the Dutch colony of Breukelen. The region was named Roode Hoek—which means "Red Point" in Dutch—because of the red soil and the fact that a part of Red Hook stuck out in a point into New York Harbor. There's no "hook" anywhere, no matter how much Hoek seems like it would translate to "hook", it doesn't. Modern day Red Hook is also home to a street called Rapelye Street, which was named after one of New Amsterdam's oldest families. In fact, Sarah Rapelje is believed to have been the first European child to be born in New Amsterdam. Her family would settle on Long Island and she would give birth to fifteen children, fourteen of whom survived (IMPRESSIVE), and is believed to be the ancestor of over a million people alive today, which, wow. Included among her direct descendants was actor Humphrey Bogart. Everyone should go out right now and watch "The Maltese Falcon." And read the book. Dashiell Hammett, though not a descendant of Sarah Rapelye (that I know of) is awesome.
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About The Author
Kristin Iversen
Kristin Iversen is the Managing Editor at Brooklyn Magazine and the L Magazine. She has been described as "a hipster buzzword made flesh." This seems pretty accurate.
