Here They Are In No Particular Order:
ROCHAMBEAU AVENUE
This Bronx street was named to honor Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur (comte de Rochambeau
1725-1807). He was a French aristocrat, soldier and Marshall of France. After the death of his elder
brother, Rochambeau entered a calvary regiment and served in Bohemia, Bavaria and on the Rhine, during the War of the Austrian
Succession. By 1747, he had attained the rank of colonel. In 1780, Rochambeau was given the rank of
Lieutenant General and was in command of 5,000 French troops and was sent to join the American colonists under George Washington
fighting the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War.
LAFAYETTE AVENUE
This Bronx street as well as many others throughout New York with this name,
was named after Gilbert Du Motier de Lafayette (1757-1834), who was a Fench aristocrat. He was considered a national
hero in both France and the United States. He participated in the American and French revolutions.
His full name is rarely used in the United States, where he is simply known as Lafayette or Marquis de Lafayette.
His name is spelled La Fayette in France and Lafayette in America. Many places in the United States also are named
Lafayette, Fayette or Fayetteville in his honor. In 2002, he was posthumously made an Honorary Citizen of the
United States.
ROSEDALE AVENUE
This street was named for Hudson P. Rose who had an estate which he called Rosedale.
His estate was actually in the vicinity of today's Parkchester.
NOBLE AVENUE
Back in the early 1700s, a man named Robert Noble owned land near East 174th Street,
which he later sold to Nathan Underhill in or around 1724. Later, this property was passed to the Hunts family,
the Pugsley family and finally to the Mapes family. The Mapes family, later sold the property as building lots.
There's also another possibility that this street was named after a city surveyor named Alfred Noble.
MANSION STREET
This road perhaps got its name from the fact that the Mapes mansion was located on
it. The Mapes family, may have built their mansion on the foundation of the old Underhill chateau of earlier times.
Later St. Anthony's Church was built on the same exact site and if you look very closely, you'll notice that part of the Mapes
mansion's foundation, was incorporated into the church.
LELAND AVENUE
This street was named after Aaron and Submit Leland who were early settlers of the
area.
St. LAWRENCE AVENUE
This street may have been named after a real estate mogul named Cyrus Jay Lawrence.
It could have also been named after a wealthy family from the town of Westchester. The street was to be called
Lawrence Avenue but a street with that name already existed, so someone decided to add the "saint" to the name.
CASANOVA STREET
This street in the Hunts Point neighborhood was named for Inocencio Casanova.
He was a very successful, late 19th century importer of cigars and other items. He occupied a very big mansion
in this area of The Bronx. He was also an ardent supporter of Cuban independence from Spain.
DREISER LOOP
This road in Co-op City was named after Theodore Dreiser. He was an aspiring
novelist who came to The Bronx in the first decade of the 20th century. He first lived in a boarding house in
the Kingsbridge neighborhood and then in the Mott Haven neighborhood, right on Mott Avenue. In order to support
himself, he managed to get a job working as a "switchman" for the New York Central Railroad. His Bronx life and
experiences were posthumously published as a novel.
HAVEMEYER AVENUE
This street was named for William Frederick Havemayer. He was one of three
grandsons who owned the Sugar Trust Company just before the Civil War. Their firm is now called Jack Frost Sugar
and it gave them all back then enough money to buy their own estates in Throgs Neck. William served three terms
as New York City's Mayor and built the mansion that is now the core of Preston High School on Schurz Avenue. William
F. Havemayer is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.
DAWSON STREET
This street was named to honor Henry B. Dawson. He was a young immigrant
from England who became in love with American History. He made his living as a newspaper editor and a journalist.
OGDEN AVENUE
They named this street for William Ogden. He went west right before the
Civil War to buy land for other people. He then stayed in Chicago and became the first mayor of that city.
After his term was over, he came back east to look after his many businesses and decided to build Villa Boscobel.
This was a very large estate in the Highbridge neighborhood. General Grant was once there as his guest.
Mr. Ogden is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.
HOE AVENUE
This road was named after Richard March Hoe. He was the inventor of the rotary
printing press. He also raised cattle and planted trees and vegetables. He is buried in the yard of
St. Ann's Church.
COLGATE AVENUE
This street was named for Robert Colgate. He was the owner of the Colgate
Palmolive Peat Company. Today it's called the Colgate-Palmolive Company. In 1860-1861, he built a mansion
in Riverdale and called it "Stonehurst". It's still standing there today on Sycamore Avenue.
JOHNSON AVENUE
This road was named to honor Isaac Johnson. He bought a peninsula in Spuyten
Duyvil Creek and built an iron foundry there which he ran very successfully. During the Civil War and the Spanish-American
War, he supplied the Army with amunitions.
CORSA AVENUE
They named this street for Andrew Corsa. He grew up on a farm where Fordham
University stands today. At the age of 19, he was asked by George Washington to guide him and about 5,000 American
and French troops to Morrisania to survey British fortifications in Manhattan.
ARNOW AVENUE
This road was named for Thomas Arnow son of Matson Smith Arnow and Grandson of Andrew
Arnow. Thomas was deputy Tax Commissioner under Mayor Strong's administration. His estate was about 10 acres . It
was broken up about 1920 and made into numerous small lots. The Arnows , whose relatives also spelled the name Renoud,
descended from an early French Huguenot named Andre Arnaud , who settled around 1702 in New Rochelle. a good portion of the
land that Arnow Avenue passes through was purchased by Andrew Arnow around 1809 from Ezra Cornell a distant relative of the
founder of Cornell University. The rest of the estate was inherited/purchased from Andrew's wife's family, the Valentines.
ARNOW PLACE
This small street was named after another distant member of the family.
Betsey Ann Stinnard Arnow. (from the "Stinardtown" section of the Bronx). She owned a house there. She
died 1887.
Arnow Place has been recently renamed for Police Officer Daniel Enchautegui,
who was shot and killed on December 10, 2005. when he interrupted a burglary in progress while off-duty. On June
15, 2006, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted to Detective.
CLAFLIN AVENUE
This street was named after Horace B. Claflin (1811-1885). He was
a wealthy Quaker who established a dry goods business in 1843. He became the foremost wholesaler in the city.
He only lived on his country estate in Fordham in the summertime. He was a Brooklyn resident the rest of the year.
MOTT HAVEN AVENUE
This street was named after Jordan L. Mott. He was born in
the year 1798 and was responsible for the economic and residential development of this entire area. At one point,
the Mott Haven section of The Bronx was his property. He invented the coal burning stove and other kitchen and
bathroom fixtures.
BAILEY AVENUE
This street was named for Nathaniel P. Bailey. He was born
in 1809 and died in 1891. He owned a lot of land in The Bronx in the 19th Century. Mr. Bailey, settled
in The Bronx in 1824 and quickly became a successful business man. He was only 35 years old when he retired.
His property covered a part of what is now known as West Fordham. It extended from Fordham Road to Kingsbridge
Road and from Bailey Avenue to University Avenue. He lived in a mansion which overlooked the Harlem River and
it was said that the view was so spectacular that one could see the New Jersey Palisades to the west. When Mr.
Bailey died, his estate was divided into streets and avenues. The majority of it became the grounds of the present
U.S. Veteran's Administration Medical Center.
ALLERTON AVENUE
This popular Bronx street was named after Daniel Allerton.
He was born in 1818 and died in 1877. He was one of the early Bronx settlers who purchased and farmed this entire
area with his wife Hustace. Daniel was related to Isaac Allerton (1586-1659) who was the fifth signer of the Mayflower
Compact. The Allertons imported tobacco from Virginia. U.S. Presidents Zachary Taylor (1784-1850)
and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) are descendents of Isaac and Daniel Allerton. The Allerton Family is
burried in Woodlawn Cemetary.
HUNTS POINT AVENUE
This area belonged to Thomas Hunt. He settled here in the year
1670. He built beautiful mansions and farmed the land as well. Hunts Point became part of New York
City in 1874. After the I.R.T. Subway line to Manhattan was constructed in 1908, the area experienced significant
changes. The neighborhood is world famous for the Hunts Point Terminal Market, which is the largest produce market
in the United States.
ALEXANDER AVENUE
This street was named after a family of land owners and developers.
They were Robert, Ellen and their son Edwin Alexander. Unfortunately, very little is known about this Bronx family.
BARRETTO STREET
This particular street was named after Francis J. Barretto.
Not the famous late Puerto Rican conga player Ray Barretto, as some people believe. He was a 19th Century merchant
who lived in the area. Many streets in the Hunts Point area of The Bronx have the names of the rich families who
owned lots of land there during the 18th and 19th centuries.
COSTER STREET
This street just two blocks away from Barretto Street, was named for Julia
Coster. She was Barretto's wife.
LONGFELLOW AVENUE
This street was named to honor Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
He was born in 1807 and died in 1882. He was one of the most popular American poets in the 19th Century.
ANTHONY AVENUE
This street was named after Charles L. Anthony. He owned a
lot of land around Kingsbridge Road. His properties extended from Jerome Avenue to Tremont Avenue and parts of
Webster Avenue in the early 1870s.
MAJOR DEEGAN EXPRESSWAY
Major William F. Deegan (1882-1932) was the son of Irish immigrants.
He studied architecture. He served during WWI as a staff officer of the 105th Field Artillery and later as a major
with the Army Corps of Engineers under General George W. Goethals. He oversaw the construction of many army bases
in New York City. Mr. Deegan was also president of The Bronx Chamber of Commerce. In 1937, New York
City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia renamed the west portion to the Triborough Bridge, Major William F. Deegan Boulevard.
When construction of this boulevard was extended in 1956, it was later renamed the Major Deegan Expressway.
PELHAM PARKWAY
The entire area around Pelham Bay Park and where Pelham Parkway now stands
belonged to Thomas Pell. The original house which was completed in the year 1670 by Mr. Pell's nephew Sir John
Pell, was destroyed during the American Revolution.
BARTOW AVENUE
In honor of Robert Bartow who was a publisher and who bought much of the
land on or near Coop City in 1836. Mr. Bartow was also related to Thomas Pell. The Bartow-Pell Mansion
stands within the grounds of Pelham Bay Park and it's the longest property in the city parks system. It is exactly
2,764 acres.
LORILLARD AVENUE
Brothers Peter and George Lorillard owned a thriving tobacco business.
They took over the family business from their father Pierre Lorillard in 1792 when he was killed by British troops during
the occupation of New York in the late 1770s. As their business grew, so did the amount of land that they
owned in The Bronx. After the Civil War, The Lorillards moved their business to New Jersey and donated their mansion
to The Hospital for Incurables. Today, this hospital is known as St. Barnabas Hospital.
BATHGATE AVENUE
This street was named in honor of Andrew Bathgate. He ran the
Bathgate Family Farm. This was one of the most largest farms in The Bronx in the 19th Century.
CAULDWELL AVENUE
In honor of William Cauldwell this street was named. He was
among the first people to buy land in The Bronx from the Morris Family, way back in the mid 1800s. Mr. Cauldwell
was also the supervisor of the Village of West Farms in 1857.
FATHER ZEISER PLACE
This curved street was once part of West 188th Street and goes from Webb
Avenue to University Avenue. The curve follows the course of the now vanished Valentine's Brook. It
was named in March of 1953, after a former pastor of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Roman Catholic Church, when it was only a small
wooden building. Father Blasius J. Zeiser, was born in Mauchunk, Pennsylvania, in 1898 and attended Villanova
College and was ordained to the priesthood in 1907. Father Zeiser, was assigned to the new parish, located on
the corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue from 1908 to 1912. After a stint in Philadelphia, he returned
to St. Nick's Church to serve as pastor from 1917 to 1946. During this time, he built the present Cathedral of
The Bronx, added an addition to the parochial grammar school and opened a high school. Father Zeiser returned
to the monastery at Villanova, where he died on May 9, 1951.
WATSON AVENUE
This street gets its name from a very rich family who owned most of the
land around this area of The Bronx in the 19th Century. Very little else is known about them.
ARCHER ROAD
A man named John Archer, was one of the early settlers of the Town of Westchester,
who later bought the Manor of Fordham. This street once belonged to the Mapes Farm, which was later auctioned
off to become a park. It is rumored that the auctioneer John S. Mapes, named this road after his mother, whose
maiden name was also "Archer".
UNIVERSITY AVENUE
This Bronx street is named after New York University, which occupied the
50-acre University Heights Campus, located at 180th Street between Sedgwick and University Avenues. That was way
back in 1894. Today, Bronx Community College occupies the entire campus.
DAVIDSON AVENUE
Very little is also known about Oliver Mathias Davidson for whom this street
was named after. Mr. Davidson served as Chief Engineer of Streets from 1867 to 1872 and at one time also owned
some land around Fordham. On a map from 1868, it lists Kingsbridge Road, Davidson Avenue, West 190th Street and
part of The Veteran's Administration Medical Center on Webb Avenue as part his property.
CASTLE HILL AVENUE
This street was originally nothing more than an Indian dirt path.
It led to a fortress on a hill overlooking The Bronx River in the 19th Century.
CLASON POINT
A man named Isaac Clason in the year 1720 bought 1,000 acres in the eastern
half of The Bronx. He was a ship owner and a successful Scotish merchant. In the years that followed,
rich families such as The Ludlows and The Lelands built farmhouses in the area and renamed this entire area Clason Point.
By the early 20th Century, Clason Point was a mixture of mansions, farmland and plenty of undeveloped swampland.
Ferry boats between Clason Point and College Point in Queens ensured a steady flow of visitors and the area soon grew into
a seasonal resort.
GUN HILL ROAD
Originally, this was also an Indian trail. This route was a
strategic path for the soldiers who were battling the war here. The British and the Americans fought fiercely
to control this area. A group of soldiers led by Captain Bryant, dragged a cannon to a nearby hill and fired it
upon the charging British Army. This forced the British Army to retreat west to The Kings Bridge allowing
the locals to escape. Soon this area was known as Gun Hill Road.
FOX STREET
This street was named in honor of 19th Century Bronx resident William F.
Fox. In the 1850s Mr. Fox inherited large amounts of land in the South Bronx. He increased his wealth
even more when he took a very rich woman named Charlotte Leggett as his bride. The Fox Family was also tied to
the Tiffany Family who owned a very large portion of land in the Eastern part of The Bronx.
LEGGETT AVENUE
The Leggett Family first settled in The Bronx in 1661. Gabriel
and Elizabeth Leggett became the owners of what is now the West Farms Section of The Bronx. Their son William
Leggett was famous for writing novels. Samuel Leggett, Charlotte's brother, was the founder of the New York Gas
lighting Company.
FEATHERBED LANE
There are four different stories as to how Featherbed Lane got its name. One
story says that during the Revolutionary War, locals covered the street with turkey and chicken feathers so that soldiers
fighting the British could move quietly through the area. Another story says that the road was so rough that those
who traveled on it padded their carriage seats with featherbeds to keep it from being too uncomfortable.
A third story contradicts the first two. It suggests that the road was so muddy that it provided a smooth ride
as if they were traveling on feathers. The last story has really nothing to do with the road itself.
It suggests that the name dates back to the 1840s, when this area was home to a large number of prostitutes who worked the
area.
FORDHAM ROAD
The name Fordham dates back to the 17th Century. In 1671, then
Governor Francis Lovelace granted a stretch of land extending 3,900 acres between the Harlem and Bronx Rivers to Dutch settler
John Archer. Mr. Archer named his land Fordham, which meant "houses by the ford" or wading place.
This was the only way to cross directly from The Bronx to Manhattan. After the death of Mr. Archer, his manor
was divided into smaller farms and the area soon evolved into a thriving community.
FORT INDEPENDENCE STREET
According to history, back in 1915 several cannon balls were unearthed
in this area. They were positively identified as coming from the days when George Washington was commanding the
fort. In honor of this great discovery, the name Fort Independence stuck.
KINGSBRIDGE ROAD
This street was named for the first bridge connecting Manhattan to the
mainland in 1693.
MAPES AVENUE
This street was named after the Mapes Family. They were rich
landowners and business people too. They were among the first Colonial Settlers of this area of East Tremont.
Thomas Mapes (1628-1687) and his wife Sarah Purrier (1630-1697), were the first members of this family to arrive in The Bronx.
At the end of the American Revolution, the Mapes Family operated a store in West Farms Village on the corner of Boston Road
and E. 179th Street. This site was previously owned by the De Lancey Mills. The Mapes store sold general
goods such as coal, paint, flour, horse feed and all sorts of seeds. Altogether, this family owned and operated
three stores in this area. The stores were still being operated by other family members until the early part of
the 20th Century.
TREMONT AVENUE
This street and section of The Bronx was once known as Upper Morrisania.
In the mid 19th Century, Postmaster Hiram Tarbox proposed the new name to avoid mail confusion with the Village of Morrisania.
He came up with the name "Tremont" for the three hills that the neighborhood had. They were... Mount Eden,
Mount Hope and Fairmount. And that's how the name "Tremont" was born.
PLIMPTON AVENUE
This street was named for George A. Plimpton (1855-1936) who was a publisher,
teacher and treasurer of Barnard College who maintained a small estate nearby.
OLINVILLE AVENUE
This street and section of The Bronx was named in honor of Stephen Olin
(1797-1851). He was an author, professor and Methodist bishop. He was born in Vermont.
His land properties included the entire Olinville section of The Bronx.
PARKER STREET
This street was named to honor James Parker. He was an influential
Justice of the Peace in the Village of Westchester in the early 1850s. The Village of Westchester is now known as Westchester
Square.
SEABURY AVENUE
This street was named for Dr. Samuel Seabury III, (1710-1796).
He was rector of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopalian Church in Westchester Village. He graduated from Yale University
in 1748 and was a bishop in Scotland in 1784.
HAVILAND AVENUE
This street was named after a Colonial era farming family.
Back in 1695, Joseph and Mary Haviland bought 30 acres of land on the east bank of The Bronx River. Mr. Joseph
Haviland, was listed in 1703 as a trustee and freeholder of the town of Westchester. The land that is today Haviland
Avenue, was part of the Pugsley Farm from 1770 until 1854.
PUGSLEY AVENUE
This street was named for the Pugsley Family. They were major
farm and landowners. There was a Mr. Talman Pugsley listed in 1794 as owning over 200 acres of land.
Some of this land became part of what is today known as Parkchester.
HEATH AVENUE
This street honors patriot and soldier, Major General William Heath (1737-1814).
He fought in many battles during the Revolutionary War. He also commanded some troops under George Washington
(1732-1799) at the battles of Long Island, Harlem Heights and White Plains. He also took command of the Hudson
River troops, after Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) betrayed his countrymen and fled into the hands of the British Army.
General Heath was also a central figure in the battle of Fort Independence in January 1777.
BARTHOLDI STREET
This street was named after Fredrick Auguste Bartholdi. He was the
man who designed the Statue of Liberty. The statue's real name was "Liberty Enlightning The World".
Today we know her simply as "Lady Liberty". The face of the statue is said to resemble Bartholdi's mother.
BEACH AVENUE
This street was named after a Dr. Wooster Beach, who owned land on Clason
Point in Civil War times. His entire estate measured about 35 acres and stayed in his family until around 1922,
when a descendant sold out. In older Bronx maps, this street was listed as Clason Point Road.
COMMONWEALTH AVENUE
It is believed that this street may be connected to nearby Stratford and
Virginia Avenues. Stratford is a town in the Commonwealth of Virginia and it may have something to do with the
birth place of the surveyor or one of its early land owners.
GUERLAIN STREET
This street once belonged to the Underhills of the 1600s. Around
Revolutionary times, a man named Lewis Guerlain bought 174 acres from Nathan Underhill. He built a beautiful chateau
on the property which he later sold in 1805 to a man named Richard Fowler.
TAYLOR AVENUE
This street was named to honor the 12th President of the United States,
Zachary Taylor, just as other streets in nearby Van Nest honor other U.S. Presidents.
