Gravesend: A Sophisticated Town-Plan
Why historical organizations in the City of New York don’t pay more attention to Gravesend, one of the city’s most unusual and oldest “landmarks” is a mystery—to wit, the still-visible road pattern of the planned village of Gravesend (originally called s’Gravesende), a rare survivor laid out in 1645. (See adjacent map.) The AIA Guide to New York City by White and Willensky describes the town of Gravesend: “One of the six original towns of Brooklyn, Gravesend is unique in a number of ways. First, it was settled by a group of English rather than Dutch colonists. Second, a woman, Lady Deborah Moody, headed its list of patentees. Third, Gravesend village was laid out using sophisticated town-planning principles resembling those of New Haven and Philadelphia.”

Remnants of the plan can still be seen today in the street layout. The original roads are now known as Village Road N, Village Road E, Village Road S, and Van Siclen Street. The center is at the intersection of Gravesend Neck Road and McDonald (formerly Gravesend) Avenue. The
village was designed as a square of about sixteen acres which was divided into four squares of four acres each. The ten lots of each square surrounded a “common yard” in the center where cattle were herded. The farms, plantations, or planters lots radiating around the square were also forty in number and laid out in triangular form with each apex restingupon the village. As late as 1880 several town farms had retained this peculiarity of outline according to Henry R. Stiles in The History of the County of Kings and The City of Brooklyn, NY, 1683 to 1884.

Gravesend’s significance was well documented in Between Ocean and Empire, an Illustrated History of Long Island, a 1985 publication sponsored by SPLIA and the Long Island Association; in a fine article in de Halve Maen by the Holland Society in 1994; and in Newsday's 1997 series “Long Island, Our Story.” In addition, the Old Gravesend Cemetery on Gravesend Neck Road between McDonald Avenue and Van Siclen Street is an officially designated landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Currently efforts are underway to save the old Hubbard House at 2138 McDonald Avenue, one of the three rare surviving old Dutch houses in the core area. This house stands on what was Plantation 15 of the northwest square bounded on the east by the Indian footpath that is now McDonald Avenue. The house has been declared eligible for the National Register and the New York Landmarks Conservancy is making arrangements to have it preserved. NY City landmark designation is pending.