386 The Story of The Bronx 



purchase. The large stone mansion and the estate of Mr. Bar- 

 retto were called ' ' Bly the Place ' ' ; the mansion wasburned down 

 years ago, and the remains of the house have been removed 

 until the top of the foundations is even with the ground. A 

 mansion belonging to another member of the family still stands 

 and is occupied by a German truck farmer. On the neck there 

 is located the old burying-ground of the slaves belonging to 

 the Hunt and Leggett families, and also an old oak upon 

 which, according to tradition, the British used to hang the 

 Whig fonagers and spies who were so unfortunate as to fall 

 into their hands. Lafayette Avenue leads toward the south- 

 west to Morrisania, and commemorates the fact, so it is said, 

 that General Lafayette passed over the lane on his way to 

 Boston when he visited the United States in 1824. In a deed 

 of May 3, 1804, mention is made of "Bocket's cot, or landing 

 place," on Barretto's Point, and it is also mentioned in later 

 deeds. It is supposed the term "cot" used here means cove. 



In December, 1908, the American Bank Note Company 

 obtained a block at the entrance of Barretto's Point for the 

 purpose of erecting their shops and factories; these were com- 

 pleted in 191 1, and give employment to over two thousand 

 persons. For several years before this date, the most promin- 

 ent building in the locality was the Monastery of Corpus 

 Christi, established in 1889, and maintained principally by 

 John D. Crimmins, Esq., as a memorial to his wife. 



Between Barretto's Point and Port Morris is Oak Point, 

 until 1905 a pleasure resort for the residents of the Borough 

 who liked the kind of pleasure to be obtained here. It is now 

 used by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad 

 for freight purposes. It was formerly known as Leggett's 

 Point, it being within the debatable land already referred to. 

 The old tree-lined lane which used to lead to the point has 



