Located right above Coney Island, Gravesend has a long, fascinating history as a coastal town. Once the entertainment capital of Brooklyn, Gravesend is now a popular residential neighborhood full of spacious single family homes.
Not only is Gravesend one of the first Dutch settlements in the New Netherlands, it's also the only settlement that was founded by a woman. Lady Deborah Moody, her and her followers having been excommunicated for being Anabaptists, were sold the land and founded the Town of Gravesend.
Gravesend became several farms and a suburban haven for the people of Kings County. However, with the sudden popularity of Sheepshead Bay, then part of Gravesend, the town decided to become more of a resort community, building race tracks and many hotels. Gravesend became part of Brooklyn in 1894 and part of the larger New York City in 1898.
The racetracks of Gravesend had to close in 1910 due to New York outlawing horse races. Coney Island…
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