Home > Marine Park > Marine Park - The neighborhood
A brief History of Marine Park - The neighborhood
Brooklyn and the Marine Park area have a long, rich history. Dating back to the last Ice Age,
some 10,000 years ago, the northern half of Brooklyn, and Long Island, was the southernmost point of
the polar-ice expansion. In fact, the northern part of Brooklyn was covered under a 1 to 2 mile
high wall of ice. If you were to stand at Eastern Parkway, in central Brooklyn, this is where the
ice stopped its push south from the Arctic Circle. As the melting ice retreated north, it transformed
the southern part of Brooklyn into an area of flat plains and soft rolling hills - where the Marine
Park community now exists.
Human existence, in this southern part of Brooklyn, dates back hundreds of years. Archaeological
excavations in Marine Park have revealed food preparation pits dating from 800 to 1400 A.D. and
containing deer and turtle bones, oyster shells, and sturgeon scales. Local Native American tribes
(the Lenape, the Manhattas, and Carnarsee tribes) used the area for farming and fishing. Major streets in
Brooklyn, such as, Kings Highway, Shore Road and Flatbush Ave. were actually old Native American
trails. Most local tribes were nomadic and lived only part of the year in the Marine Park area.
During the Spring, tribes settled in southern Brooklyn, planting crops and fishing. The waters
of Jamaica Bay, Gerritsen Creek and Sheepshead Bay were teeming with fish, clams, oysters, and
crabs. As Summer turned to Fall, the tribes harvested their crops, gathered their belongings,
and headed north. The Fall months were spent fishing along the East River and hunting in the
lush forests on Manhattan Island. Winters were spent hunting in Westchester County, in
present-day White Plains, New York.
Source: Map 1: Lotthouse.org - Map 2: Hagstrom Map Company, Inc.
Home > Marine Park > Marine Park - The neighborhood