by Geoff Cobb 
The Duryea House, a 240-year-old Greenpoint landmark, was sadly destroyed in the days before New York awakened to its own history. The original colonial structure stood on the banks of Newtown Creek until 1921, before it was demolished, an unpardonable offense to local history. No building in local history survived for as long as this piece of early colonial history.
The farmhouse at 418 Meeker Ave was…
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20 years does not a “Greenpointer” make. Thanks for your bit of trivia but actually, no thanks.
Most Greenpointers have not been as mean spirited as you, but haters gonna hate.
Dear Geoff,
I’ve been researching the life and times of a certain 17th/18th Century Alexander Baird. He owned part of Jacob Steendam’s 1653 farm, having bought it from Humphrey Clay’s heir (also Humphrey Clay) in 1717 (see Keskachauge, or, the First White Settlement on Long Island, Chap. 23, pp.371-372, and previous to that, p. 369, where there is a map of the Steendam Farm). The house, probably built by Clay, would certainly have been on the property when Alexander Baird owned it or at least lived in the neighborhood. Alexander Baird’s will, dated 1746, gives the land to Magdalena (Van Vleck) Baird, his wife, who unfortunately died just one year later. Joost Duryea acquired it, as you mentioned, in 1749.
Thanks for your excellent essay. It really made my day. Can you tell me whether this neighborhood of Brooklyn is safe or at all pleasant to walk around in these days? I’ll be visiting in September (2019) and wanted to look up some of the old places. I suspect that your article might be an infinitely better substitute for actually going there, but I’d appreciate your opinion.
All the best,
Nancy
Hi Nancy, Greenpoint is very safe and worth a visit. Think you might also enjoy my book Greenpoint’s Forgotten Past. Thanks for the kind words.