Did you know Wallabout Channel was once a bustling waterway? It’s hard to imagine now. Today the channel is part of the Brooklyn Navy Yard a place of industry and innovation. But centuries ago Wallabout Channel held a very different significance. It was here that the first Europeans settled Long Island. French-speaking Walloons arrived in the early 1630s. They purchased land from the Canarsee Indians. Joris Jansen Rapelje was one such settler. He traded goods for 335 acres at Wallabout Bay. His daughter Sarah became the first child of European parents born in New Netherland. A testament to the new colony taking root.
Wallabout Channel served as a vital transportation link. In 1637 the first ferry across the East River began operating. Cornelis Dircksen was the ferryman. He farmed on both sides of the river near the future site of the Brooklyn Bridge. A feudal system ended in 1638. Wallabout became a colony of freeholders. After ten years of paying a tenth of their yield to the Dutch East India Company colonists owned their land. The humble settlement eventually grew into the city of Brooklyn.
But Wallabout Channel also holds a darker chapter in its history. During the American Revolution British prison ships were moored here. The most notorious was HMS Jersey. Thousands of American prisoners of war were held in horrific conditions. Approximately 12000 died. Many from neglect. They were buried in shallow graves on the eroding shore or thrown overboard. The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in nearby Fort Greene Park honors their memory. Their tragic fate serves as a sobering reminder of the human cost of war.
Wallabout Channel’s role didn’t end there. It became the site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Parts of the bay were filled in to expand the yard. A small island was created. Later it was joined to the mainland. The waterway that was once the main thoroughfare for early settlers and then a grim reminder of war eventually became a hub of industrial activity. The Wallabout Channel changed greatly but its history remains as a significant part of New York City’s rich and varied past.