Williamsburg History

In 1661 the city of Boswijck was established. The name of the city was later changed to Bushwick. It was in the 19th century when it became an independent community called Williamsburg. When it was finally annexed with the neighborhood of Brooklyn, great industrial, cultural and economic growth began to be noticed. All local companies began to grow. Rich New Yorkers like Cornelius Vanderbilt and railroad magnate Jim Fisk chose to build their mansions in Williamsburg.

These wealthy were followed by Charles Pratt and his family. Pratt founded the Pratt Institute, which was and still is today a very important school of art and architecture. East neighborhood Brooklyn can also boast of being the home of Corning Glass Works before the company moved to Corning, NY. When the German chemist Charles Pfizer came to America, he chose to settle in Williamsburg and founded the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

Most of the residents Williamsburg were of German descent, however, when the Williamsburg Bridge was built a lot of Jews moved from Lower East Side to Manhattan. Williamsburg can also boast of being a great center financial, as it was home to two large community banks: Williamsburg Savings Bank (1851) and Dime Savings Bank (1864) which is now known as the DIME.

In 1898, Brooklyn became officially in one of the five boroughs of New York. Williamsburg really began to prosper when the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903 and grew to become a popular area. There are a lot of monuments historical in the neighborhood that you must visit if you go around the area.

Colonial Williamsburg History and Hauntings (April 2024)