New York State Surveyor General Survey Map of the Town of Brooklyn, Kings County

This single manuscript map shows the town of Brooklyn in the county of Kings as it was surveyed by Sidney Herbert and Robert Tolford in 1834.

Surveying the public lands was a function of the office of the Surveyor General. Chapter 72 of the Laws of 1801 empowered the Surveyor General to demand from a town supervisor a survey of the town boundaries, and made it the duty of the supervisor to cause such a survey to be made and to deliver a map and description of the boundaries to the Surveyor General.

This survey was carried out from November 1833 to January 1834 at the request and under the direction of town supervisor Jeremiah Johnson. The survey was apparently done in anticipation of the incorporation of the City of Brooklyn which occurred by legislation passed in April of 1834. Chapter 92 of the Laws of 1834 incorporated the city and divided it into nine wards, with the five districts of the village of Brooklyn comprising wards 1 through 5. This map clearly shows all nine wards.

The map is hand drawn in ink with color wash and shows the town of Brooklyn and small areas of the adjacent towns of Flatbush, Bushwick, and New Utrecht. It shows the boundaries of the nine wards along with roads and streets, various mill ponds, and a few significant sites such as the Gowandus Battle Ground of 1776, the U.S. Navy Yard, and the County Poor House. The map measures approximately 119 x 99 cm overall; it is encapsulated in two pieces measuring 80 x 99 cm and 39 x 99 cm respectively.

The map face includes a statement by supervisor Johnson signed and dated February 15, 1834 certifying that the map is an accurate representation of the town and that "the intended wards of the City of Brooklyn are also correctly represented on this map." This statement is notarized and dated March 10, 1834. The map contains a second attestation signed by the two surveyors stating that they did the survey during the time specified and at the request of the supervisor. This statement is certified by the commissioner of deeds and dated March [17?], 1834.

Accompanying the map is a single manuscript sheet measuring 38 x 15 cm. It is annotated in darker black ink, noted as filed in the Surveyor General's Office on April 4, 1834, and signed by Surveyor General Simeon DeWitt. The sheet includes the following information: the 1830 census figures "From the Red Book" for six towns (Brooklyn, Bushwick, Flatbush, Flatlands, Gravesend, and New Utrecht) in Kings County; 1834 population figures for the same six towns; return of jurors for the same six towns, and count for fire and hook and ladder companies in Brooklyn; and return of taxable real, personal, and "agregate" property for the same six towns for 1833, and a note analyzing Brooklyn's share.

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