A few months ago I was pondering the origin of Brooklyn's Name. Was there a great brook that ran through the borough? Was it founded by someone named Brook or Brooks? Was it derived from the Native American name of the region. Today, while watching the Documentary New York, the answer was revealed.
In 1636, about twelve years after Dutch settlers began to establish the community of New Amsterdam at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, a handful of pioneers among them spread across the East River to set up plantations on the western-most edge of Long Island. In 1646, the first Dutch community on the island was incorporated. It was called Breuckelen, after a town in the Netherlands.
