A Concise History - More To Come

The Dutch West India Company acquired the area known as the Bronx in 1639. The first farm was established in 1641 by Jonas Bronck, the person for whom the area was named.  Many wealthy New York merchants established manors in this area, such as Oloff Stevenson Van Cortlandt and Frederick Philipse, who built the first bridge across the Harlem River to Manhattan in 1693.  During the American Revolution (1776) the Bronx became a battleground with the Battle of Pell's Point, where American troops delayed British forces under General William Howe, thus enabling George Washington to withdraw to White Plains.

The Bronx was a part of Westchester County until the five parts were annexed by New York City in 1875.  It was an area of farms and small villages until the 1890's when trolley lines and elevated subways arrived in the area. This created rapid growth in the area.