On Wednesday, Sept. 21st, BHS held its annual fundraiser Brooklyn Bounty, which is a wonderful event celebrating the borough’s food culture and sustainability movements. This year we also displayed historic maps illustrating Brooklyn’s farming history and pre-industrial landscape. In this post, I will be highlighting one my favorite maps showcased at Brooklyn Bounty. Titled “Plan of large & small gardens at the Pierrepont Homestead, Brooklyn,” this manuscript map was created by William C. Pierrepont in 1821.
First, an image of the map in its entirety. Although it may be underwhelming at first glance, its charm is really in the details.
Plan of large & small gardens at the Pierrepont Homestead, Brooklyn. W.C. Pierrepont. 1821. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.
A closer look and the layout of the Pierrepont family’s gardens is now visible. We see a barn, hotbed, greenhouse, and planned rows of vegetables. And apparently, the Pierreponts were partial to asparagus!
Plan of large & small gardens at the Pierrepont Homestead, Brooklyn. W.C. Pierrepont. 1821. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.
And zooming in a little more …
Plan of large & small gardens at the Pierrepont Homestead, Brooklyn. W.C. Pierrepont. 1821. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.
Plan of large & small gardens at the Pierrepont Homestead, Brooklyn. W.C. Pierrepont. 1821. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.
It’s easy to forget that Brooklyn was once a farming-based community, but when I look at this map, it helps me to remember that before the paved roads and apartment buildings, the landscape was populated by tilled fields and grazing livestock. It must have been a sight to see.
Sea kale!! Pie Plant!! (that’s rhubarb, I know…)…this is amazingly cool. But, a big question: Where, exactly, is the present-day location of this farm?
Thanks, Brenda. I didn’t know what “pie plant” was, but it makes good sense. The Pierrepont farm was on the same land that BHS is on right now. It stretched from the waterfront to about where Borough Hall is now; and from an old walking path (of which only one block of Love Lane now exists) to about Remsen Street in what is now Brooklyn Heights. I give a tour for teachers of the land Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont bought in 1804. It’s called “Brooklyn Heights from George Washington to Jackie Robinson.” More info here: http://www.brooklynhistory.org/education/professional.html
That’s also a large amount of horseradish, considering how potent it is! I wonder how many recipes called for it.