1643.] HISTORY OF Delaware county. . 31 



Hi3 instructions rerjuired that the river miffht " be shut" or 

 "commanded." For this purpose, the position of Fort Christina, 

 at once determined its insufficiency. The l)ohl shore of the island 

 of Tennaconk' (Tinicuni,) then extending furtlier into the river 

 than it now does, was wisely selected as the site for a new fortress; 

 for while by its position it commanded the river, its proximity to 

 Fort Nassau enabled the Governor more readily to control the 

 operations of the Dutch. Its insular position also rendered it 

 more secure from attacks by the Indians. 



Besides the fort, which was named New Gottcnhurg, Governor 

 Printz, " caused to be built there, a mansion for himself and 

 family which was very handsome ; there was a fine orchard, a 

 pleasure house and other conveniencies. He called it Frintz 

 Hall.'"- The dilapidated remains, of what was said to be the chim 

 ney of this mansion, were standing within the recollection of the 

 author, and up to this time one of the small foreign made bricks, 

 of a pale yellow color of which it was partly constructed, may be 

 occasionally picked up in the vicinity.^ Its site was a short 

 distance above the present Tinicum hotel, and on the opposite 

 side of the road. 



The fort, we are told by Hudde, was built o^ groenen logs,* the 

 one on the other, and "was pretty strong." Groenen has been 

 translated hcmlocJc, but as that timber did not grow within any 

 convenient distance of the place, and that of a kind much better 

 fitted for the purpose was at hand, there is evidently a mistake, 

 either in the translation or in the statement of Hudde. 



This vigilant Governor did not feel satisfied that he had quite 

 "shut the river" by the erection of Fort Gottenburg; for before 

 the expiration of eight months from the day of his arrival, he 

 had completed another fortress near the mouth of Salem creek, 

 which he called Elfsborg or Elsinborg, and on which were 

 mounted eight brass twelve-pounders.^ 



Upon the arrival of Governor Printz, the only European 

 population on the river were the few persons occupying the 

 Dutch Fort Nassau, the Swedish colony at Christina, and the 

 Dutch patroon colony established by the Swedish government at 

 one or more points lower down. How many persons accompauicd 

 the Governor is not known, but the number though not large, 



1 It seems probable that this word in the Indian language meant " Idand." 

 '•' Canipanius, 79. 



* Ferris in his " Original settlements on the Delaware," says : " This Hall stood more 

 than 160 jear.-i, and was at last burnt down by accident since the commencement of 

 the present century." 



* Iludde's Rep. N. Y. Hist. Col. N. S. i. 429. 



* The guns were lying there, and the fort " not entirely finished" when visited by 

 De Vrics, October 20th, 1643. see his voyages. N. Y. Hist. Col. iii. 123. Ciimpanius 

 says this Fort "was erected by Governor Printz, when he first came into the coun- 

 try," 80. 



