Morrisania 371 



Farms, due to the fact that Gouverneur Morris, Second, and 

 the other proprietors had begun to sell their lands to the in- 

 coming tide of Germans and others; but primarily to the con- 

 struction of the Harlem Railroad. On December 7, 1855, 

 the township of Morrisania was reformed, following practi- 

 cally the old manor lines. In 1864, the village of Morrisania 

 was incorporated. The township embraced the villages of 

 Mott Haven, North New York, Port Morris, Wilton, East 

 Morrisania, Old (or Central) Morrisania, West Morrisania, 

 Melrose, South Melrose, East Melrose, Woodstock, Claremont, 

 Eltona, and Devoe's Neck. Several of these were named 

 after the adjoining estates, thus, Claremont was the estate of 

 Martin Zboroski. 



As we wander through Morrisania to-day, we find the same 

 network of solidly built-up streets and blocks that we would 

 find in Manhattan, except on the eastern and western edges, 

 where we still find rural conditions. Yet so convinced are 

 some people that the Borough is still rural that they talk of 

 living in the country, even when it happens to be Wendover 

 Avenue, where there are more adults and children — children 

 especially — to the square inch than in almost any other place 

 in the city. 



In the northwest corner of the township, there used to be a 

 small stream south of Highbridge which was the dividing 

 line between the Turneur patent and the lands of Archer and 

 Morris. It ran from about the junction of Ogden Avenue 

 and Woolf Street into the Harlem. This latter street gets 

 its name from the Woolf family, whose farm was situated 

 along the southern line of the manor of Fordham. The an- 

 cestor of the family was a Hessian soldier named Anthony 

 Woolf, who found this country so much to his liking that he 

 remained here after the Revolution, and acquired title to his 



