The Strong Place Properties
A Neighborhood History
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn is an old neighborhood, with a history that goes back to the beginnings of Breukelin, and the area’s first Dutch settlers. The first farmers in the area were granted land patents as early as the 1640’s, for land stretching from the East River shore to the Gowanus Valley. What is now Cobble Hill was a land of rich farmland, heavy with apples, peach and other fruit trees
By 1766, the area was known as “Cobleshill”, or sometimes “Ponkiesbergh”, named for now unknown people or places. This covered the land east of Red Hook Lane, near what is now the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, with Court Street. Cobble Hill Fort was a platform on Coble’s Hill, with three cannon protected by spiral trenches. It was one of several forts built to protect the new American forces during the Battle of Long Island, and was important because of its height.
General George Washington, General Putnam, and their officers watched the Battle of Long Island from this vantage point, in 1776. Washington had arranged for two cannon to sound when the British had been sighted, and from here, he watched the debacle that took place in nearby Gowanus, a losing bloody battle that almost destroyed the colonial army, in the first battle of the war. After the British took over all of Brooklyn and New York City, they tore down the top of Cobble Hill, so that this vantage point would never again be able to look upon their troop movement. Over thirty years later, during the War of 1812, Cobble Hill was again built up and fortified, and was called “Fort Swift”, part of the lines of defense of Kings County.
Following the American Revolution, the areas we know as Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and Gowanus were all called South Brooklyn. By 1834, the village of Brooklynhad incorporated into the City of Brooklyn, and this included these South Brooklyn neighborhoods. The old Red Hook Lane had become Court Street. Henry Street was opened by 1828, and by 1834, the gridiron of streets stretched south to Butler Street, which is present day Kane Street. Strong Place had already been established and paved by that time, and is the oldest street in present day Cobble Hill.
An 1840 street directory shows forty-five homes, with development occurring rapidly, as builders built speculative housing in groups of three and four houses, joining the single homes specifically built by wealthy merchants and businessmen. The area was close enough for commuting to Manhattan, via the Fulton ferry, established back in 1814. Many prominent area men commuted from their suburban Cobble Hill homes, including J. S. DeGraw and James Van Nostrand, president of the Merchants Exchange Bank of New York. Van Nostrand’s home at 439 Henry Street, will be important to our story.
By the 1860’s, Cobble Hill was an establishedcommunity, with fine churches, stores, banks and shops, but it did not remain an upperclass enclave for very long. Albert T. White’s model tenements, built in 1876-79, heralded the changes in the neighborhood, as many of the houses slowly became rooming houses;for the many immigrant groups to settle in Brooklyn, specifically the Irish, Swedes, Norwegians, English and Germans. By the 20th century, Cobble Hill, still part of South Brooklyn, began to welcome Spanish speaking immigrants, and members of the Syrian and Lebanese communities. The splitting of Red Hook from the rest of South Brooklyn by Robert Moses’ Brooklyn Queens Expressway in the 1950’s was a blow to this now working class community.
In 1959, the Cobble Hill name was reintroduced to the area, and the re-settlement of wealthier homeowners, many priced out of Brooklyn Heights, slowly began. In 1969, the main streets of Cobble Hill were designated as an historic district by the new Landmarks Preservation Commission, protecting the fine collection of mid-18th century buildings from being further altered or destroyed. Today, Cobble Hill’s tree-lined streets contain some of Brooklyn’s most well preserved row house blocks. The past is very evident on these streets, but the future of the neighborhood also lies in the adaptive uses of buildings and space, as evidenced in the new Strong Place Condominiums, created in the old Strong Place Church.
Strong Place
Strong Place was the earliest settled street in the southern part of Cobble Hill. It had eight residents in 1840, and its placement guided city planners in arranging the parallel and intersecting streets around it. Corporation Council notices in the Brooklyn Eagle in 1842 show that it was paved, and scheduled to have gas streetlights installed by the end of 1843. This one block street is named for Selah Strong, Esq., a lawyer and politician with a pedigreed lineage. He was a descendent of the Brewster family on his mother’s side, the leaders of the Mayflower Pilgrims. Born in Brookhaven, in 1792, He graduated from Yale College in 1811, was admitted to the bar in 1814, and practiced in New York City. He served in the military during the War of 1812, later, he served in Congress, became a judge, and eventually a judge in the New York State Supreme Court. He died in 1872.
The nearby harbor, and easy access to the Fulton Ferry made Cobble Hill a perfect suburb, and Selah Strong was not the only wealthy man to have his suburban retreat here. His estate had been part of the older Cornell farm and mill, established in the mid 1700’s. His land stretched to Baltic Street, a block away from present day Strong Place, and his home was in the middle of the block that now bears his name. A Brooklyn city map from 1874 shows the border of his old estate, with the present day street grid overlaid on it. By the time the block was being developed, Mr. Strong had long moved on, leaving only his name to the street.
By the 1840’s a New York broker named Charles Kelsey had acquired land on both sides of the block, building the largest house for himself. Houses were built on this block until the end of the 19th century, ranging in style from the Greek Revival of the 1830’s, through the Neo-Grec style houses of the early 1880’s, to the Romanesque and Queen Anne styles of the 1890’s, ending with the flats and apartment buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Numbers 2 and 4 Strong Place
Little is known about numbers 2 and 4 Strong Place. We have one photograph take in 1934, and we have the Brooklyn maps to give us a clue as to their dates. We also have census records to show the progression of people who lived there every ten years, and we have the newspapers. Nothing is written about the two houses in the Landmarks Preservation Commission report for Cobble Hill, written when the district was landmarked in 1969. So what can we deduce from the evidence we have? The 1934 photograph offers some clues. The two houses were very similar to number 6 Strong Place, and were probably built at the same time. Unfortunately, the designation report for Cobble Hill totally fails to mention number 6, the last remaining house of the trio that stood on the corner of Strong Place and Harrison, now Kane Street. So we have to do some speculating here.
The earliest homes on this block date from the 1830’s, also the time of the Greek Revival style of architecture, of which all three houses are an example. There are other documented 1830’s houses on this blockthat look almost exactly the same. So I think it’s safe to say numbers 2, 4, and 6 Strong Place were built in the 1830’s. Many of the houses in this part of Cobble Hill, from this time period, were built by builder/speculators, and there were usually no architects of record.
The first census report we can trace to specific addresses took place in 1880. Number 2 Strong Place was home to the Mapelsden family. Reuben Mapelsden was 65 years old and retired. He lived in the house with his wife, Anna (65), son Reuben, Jr. (29) is listed as in real estate, with his daughter-in-law Josephine (27), granddaughter Elizabeth (3), and two servants: Ella Norton (50) and Margaret Brennan (19), both from Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Mapelsden and their son Reuben were all born in England. Reuben Jr was also an attorney, as well as a real estate man, and his name also appears in the Eagle as an administrator in several estates, as well as a referee in several civil court suites. The family lived here from at least 1880 to 1888, when Reuben Mapelsden, Sr. dies, at the age of 74. In 1899, Josephine Mapelsden died, and her address was listed as 881 Union Street at that time. Her husband, Reuben, Jr. remarried two years later, in 1901.
Next door at #4 Strong Place, the 1880 census tells us that this was a boarding house. Elizabeth Hall (38) was head of house, and ran the boarding house with her daughter Bessie (20). Their borders were George Walker, (35) a broker, and his children, Minnie (11) and George, Jr. (13) both of whom attended school. Other boarders in the house were Stowe Von Moers, (60) and his son Stowe Von Moers, Jr. (28). Both are listed as being in the wine business. William Cochran, (24) and H. Anthony (27) were both store clerks. Ellen McGowan, (22) from Ireland, was the house’s servant.
The 1890 census records were destroyed in a fire in 1921, and are hugely incomplete. The records for Brooklyn were among those lost, so we don’t know who was living in the houses at that time. In 1900, 2 Strong Place was home to Gustav Steubach, (51) a German-born manufacturer. In fact, the entire household was German-born, which included his wife, Jenny (43), son Gustav, Jr. (19) who worked as an insurance agent, and Lousic Bortsher (36), the family servant.
4 Strong Place was no longer a boarding house, and was home to Pauline Luenarg (sic) a 43 year old woman from Germany, and her daughter, Margarethe, who was a 16 year old student.1910 shows us the Cummings family in the house at 2 Strong Place. Michael Cummings (64) was a clerk, Lillie, (33) a daughter, and four sons: James (21), John (19), Paul (14) and Edward (12). All were native born Americans.
Next door, 4 Strong Place was home to a large family as well. Joseph Zucker, (47) a German-born manufacturer, his 47 year old wife Mary, son Maurice, a 22 year old lawyer, and more siblings,all lived in the house. The remaining children were Sadie (18), Estelle (16), Helene (14), Sidney (12), and Ruth (8). The older children were born in Texas, which had a lot of German immigrants in the late 19th century. They were joined by Minnie Sdansyetskorr, (19), a Polish servant and housekeeper.
The 1920 census for 2 Strong Place further illustrates the neighborhood as a middle class European ethnic enclave. The large house was now home to the Sbeglia’s, born in Italy. Frank Sbeglia (27) was a lace manufacturer, and his wife Josephine (23), kept house. Others in the house were Joseph Mayer and his wife Dalla, both 41. They were also Italian. He was a barber and shopkeeper, and she sewed embroidery. They had three children, Fanny (15), Dominic (12), and Joseph (3). The house was also home to Carlie Corhan (30), a Syrian shirtwaist manufacturer and his family. Mary, his wife (26), and children Emil (7), Maurice (5), Julius (3), Philip (3) and Josephine (1). In addition to them, George Lobos (34), a silk manufacturer, and his wife Hononud (26), also from Syria, also lived there.
A similar group of people were next door at number 4. John Dourdell (54), an Irish-born clerk at the magistrate’s office, lived here with his wife, Mary (47), and their two children, John Jr. (23) and Frank (21), both of whom clerked in a clerical shipyard. Elsewhere in the house were Michael Habit (23), from Syria, and his wife (20) and daughter (3), both named Mary. The father worked as a manufacturer of auto supplies. Rounding out the apartments were Louis (36) and Hannah (35) Barker, with son Arthur (4) and daughter Helda (2). The Barker’s were Russian, and he was a drug store keeper.
The last census we have public access to was 1930. Number 2 Strong Place was not inhabited at that time, and no census records were recorded. Next door at number 4 Strong Place, the large house was home to quite a few people. John Raddovick was a 37 year old fireman from Austria. His wife Mary (30) and son John (2) lived there, as well. Rudolf Donat was a boarder, a 19 year old Austrian-born longshoreman. Michael Flocico (30) was an Austrian fireman with the railroads. Sabatino Langella (30) was a 30 year old Italian immigrant who was also a longshoreman. He lived with his wife Theresa (28), and children: Joseph (9), Rose (8), Sarah (6) Frank (3), and Louis, an infant. The last family on the roster was also quite large and consisted of Italian-born Gastrasso Traino (47), a longshoreman, and his wife Anna (45), and their children: Ralph (20) a long shore clerk, Frank (16), also a clerk, and six other kids, Carmila (18), Ciro (14), Antoinette (12), Timber (?) 9, Oneal (5) and Filomina (2).
These two houses were demolished sometime around 1934.A look at an enlargement of the NY Public Library’s photograph, taken in 1934, provides some clues. 2 Strong Place, the house on the corner, was abandoned and empty when this photo was taken, and looks to have been so for much longer than its neighbor. This is borne out by the census. You can see that the window glass was either taken out or broken. There is no reflection of light from the windows, the shutters are askew or falling off. The house is clearly empty. Next door, number 4, is empty, as well. Contrast both houses to number 6 Strong Place, which is occupied, and you can easily see the difference. When the houses were torn down, their lots remained empty.
And, we have yet another mystery to be solved. The 1934 photograph of Strong Place and Kane Street clearly shows a three story building in the middle of Kane, on the south side of the street, midway between 2 Strong Place and the walled garden of 439 Henry. What is this building, and what happened to it? Enlarging the photo only intensifies the mystery. The building appears to be an apartment building, perhaps with a store front, dating back to the first decades of the 20th century. A careful look shows what look to be French doors right before the garden gate. An aerial photograph of Brooklyn streets, taken in 1923, shows this building here, but it is not listed in the Real Estate Record and Building Guide, or in the censuses between 1900 and 1930. From other documents, it appears to be 164 Kane Street, a parcel now counted as part in the 2-4 Strong Place property line.
Kane is a relatively new name for this street. It began as Butler Street, but soon became Harrison Street, presumably named after William Henry Harrison, the 9th president of the United States, who died in office about the time this area was being developed. Maps of the area show Harrison Street, up until 1928, when the name was changed to Kane Street, to honor James Kane: election commissioner, alderman and police sergeant. (1839-1926) What was here, and what happened to all three buildings? This mystery will be solved in the last chapter of our story.
