Old World Cities - Virtual Walking Tour of Historic NYC, Philly, DC, Boston, Chicago, Rhode Island, Baltimore and more.

NEW YORK
TIMELINE
1609-1909

1524 Verrazano anchors the Daphine for France in the Lower Bay, and sees local inhabitants.

1526 Esteban Gomez sailing for Spain arrives in the lower and upper bay.

1609 English navigator Henry Hudson working for the Dutch sails the Half Moon into Manhattan's waters. He meets and trades with local tribes.

1610 Trade begins to pick up, especially for Beaver furs.

1613 Adrian Block sails the Tiger to New Netherland trade. His boat catches fire (later it is thought to be found at World Trade Center location in the 20th Centery).

1623 Cornelius May brings the Walloons (French specking refugees from Spanish Netherlands).

1624 Fort Amsterdam is under construction and trade strengthens.

1626 Peter Minuit becomes new Director and 'buys' Manhattan from local chiefs. New Amsterdam is officially named with most inhabitants located on the East River.

1628 Collegiate Reformed Church Established.

1635 Fort completed with main gates opening into Bowling Green.

1638 William Kieft takes over as Director and increases taxes causing many problems.

1643 First Catholic priest visits New York, he a French Jesuit.

1644 A wall is built to keep livestock from wandering at what later will be called Wall St.

1647 Cattle pen is cleared for recreation park what is called Bowling Green.

1653 The first city hall is established at 71-73 Pearl St where the first city tavern was located. Also the first Latin school is established on Broad St. New Amsterdam incorporates and becomes a city.

1654 Sephardic Jews arrive from Brazil, establishment of a synagogue on South William St. Population of city is approx 1000.

1664 English take over New Amsterdam and name it New York.

1665 Thomas Willet appointed first mayor.

1671 Lutherans establish first church.

1673 Boston Post Road is established, running up Broadway, past City Hall and through the Bronx to Boston. Dutch take back New York and rename it New Orange.

1674 Peace treaty hands New Orange back to English who rename it New York.

1676 Great dock is built off Water St and Conties Slip.

1683 Irish Catholic Thomas Dongan is appointed Governor. He established charters right to vote, jury by peers, and others. Later England felt this charter was to liberal and threw it out. First Catholic mass is held in the Fort on October 30th.

1691 Practicing Catholic faith is banned in New York City. Captain Kidd the pirate moves to New York by Hanover Square.

1693 Church of England becomes New York City's official religion.

1695 City of New York Map completed.

1698 Trinity Church is established.

1699 Wall at Wall Street that was used for protection from attacks is removed.

1700 New City Hall is established at Nassau St and Wall Street (site of Federal Hall)..

1702 Yellow fever strikes.

1708 First large wave of immigrants hits the city after the Walloons. They are from Germany.

1725 The city's first newspaper is established The New York Gazette.

1727 Small poxs hits the city.

1730 Slave market opens at Wall Street and the East River. Congregation Shearith Israel builds their first synagogue at 18 South William Street.

1731 Small poxs hits again. Population of the city is apprx 9,000.

1732 City's first playhouse opens at Maiden Lane and Pearl Street.

1733 Bowling Green is established as city's first park.

1736 Social Services for the poor and children are set up on the Commons - which later will be the site for the third City Hall.

1741 Following a fire thought to be a Spanish conspiracy - many slaves, Irish, and Catholics are killed in a mob response. Some are burned at the stake. Yellow fever hits again.

1744 New York Evening Post is established.

1753 A fire at Trinity Church destroys much of their records.

1754 Columbia University(Kings College) is established.

1762 City's first St. Patrick's Day Parade is held.

1763 City population is 12,000. Fraunces Tavern begins as Queen Head Tavern.

1765 The Stamp Act is introduced via England. Not many know it, but this will start revolutionary discussions.

1766 St. Paul's Chapel opens its doors.

1767 Townshend Revenue Act via England - more fuel to the revolutionary fire.

1768 New York Chamber of Commerce established.

1771 Population is 20,000.

1773 Tea Act via England - the final straw.

1774 Revolutionaries dressed as Mohawk Indians jump aboard ships into he harbor and dump English tea as a sign of revolt tot he Tea Act.

1776 Washington has Declaration of Independence read aloud. With a fervor pitch residents rip down a statue of King George in Bowling Green. Shortly after General Howe (UK) takes over New York until 1783 (the end of the Revolutionary War). A second great fire hits the city, many believe it was Revolutionary sabotage. Maerschalck map of New York City completed..

1778 A second fire hits.

1783 The Treaty of Paris signed. Washington rides into New York City, stopping at the Bull Head Tavern on Bowery and ending at the Cape Tavern on Broadway. He says goodbye to his troops at Fraunces Tavern.

1784 The 1700 Law banning Roman Catholic practice is lifted. St. Peter's Church is established. Sons of St. Patrick is established. Bank of New York is established by Hamilton.

1789 George Washington is inaugurated at Federal Hall. Tammany Hall is established. McComb Map completed.

1790 Fort George, formerly Fort Amsterdam and Fort James, is leveled.

1792 New York Stock Exchange begins at its office at 22 Wall St. Yellow fever hits once again.

1798 Yellow fever again.

1799 George Washington dies.

1801 Population is 60,000.

1804 Hamilton is shot by Burr in a duel. Trinity Church is burned down again.

1808 Pope established the Diocese of New York.

1810 Large wave of Irish immigrants begins to flow into New York City.

1811 Southwest Battery is finished (later named Castle Clinton in Battery Park). Its only access is via a wooden pier that projects about 250ft. Gov Clinton starts his push for the Erie Canal. New City Hall is completed on current site. Only front is finished in marble since they believe the population will not move beyond Chamber St.

1812 US and UK go to war.

1820 Population 125,000.

1822 Yellow fever hits. Fulton fish market opens, it will close in 2005.

1825 Erie Canal is completed by mostly Irish immigrants. It is a boom to business in New York.

1826 Irish and American street gangs start to form in the Five Points. Bowery Theater is the first gas light theater.

1831 NYU is established.

1835 The Great Fire hits lower Manhattan. It devastates businesses and homes.

1836 Reformed Presbyterian Church opens.

1839 Second Trinity Church is damaged.

1840 Population is 300,000. Five Points is worst location in the metro area.

1842 Board of Education is formed.Map of City of New York completed.

1844 American bigots clashes between anti Irish and anti Catholic immigrants.

1845 A massive wave of Irish immigrants begins. Equipped with only rural skills, their survival is perilous in the urban location of Five Points.

1846 US Mexican War begins. Third Trinity Church is erected.

1847 Hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants flood the city escaping the famine in Ireland via 'coffin ships'. Chinese Immigrants start to move into the Five Points later known as Chinatown.

1848 The Five Points Mission is opened at a former brewery at the cross streets of Cross and Little Water.

1851 Typhus hits the city. New York City Resident Herman Melville publishes Moby Dick. Lower Manhattan painting by Heine, J. Kummer & D�pler completed.

1854 House of Industry is operating at 155 Worth Street in the Five Points.

1855 Famed American street tough Bill "the Butcher" Poole dies from a gun shot in a local bar.

1857 Famed fight between city and state police leads to crime fueled weekend by criminals.

1860 Abe Lincoln arrives, buys a hat, takes a photos and woos the crowd during his presidential election campaign. Canal St sees a large increase in vice trades.

1861 Civil War begins. The NY Fighting 69th(Irish) Regiment leaves for battle. 8

1862 Massive draft riots occur when poor can't 'buy' their way out of draft for $300.

1865 Small poxs hits.

1869 Goldman Sachs begins at 30 Pine St.

1870 Battery Park is filled in and extended.

1871 Boss Tweed is arrested.

1876 Boss Tweed is put in jail, just as Tweed Court house is finished.

1880 Thomas Edison lights Broadway.

1883 Brooklyn Bridge opens.

1885 Save haven for Irish girls is set up at Old Lady of the Rosary (Seton Shrine) at 7 State Street. 1886 Statue of Liberty is erected.

1888 Huge snow blizzard hits the city.

1894 Rapid Transit System (subway) is approved.

1899 First skyscraper is erected at 15 Park Row.

1900 Population 3.5 million. Ellis Island starts processing large numbers of immigrants.

1903 Williamsburg Bridge is built. Typhoid Mary hits city.

1907 Custom House is built at Bowling Green.

1909 Manhattan Bridge opens.

PHILLY
TIMELINE
1681-1907

1632 Area to be known as Philadelphia is included in the Maryland Charter.

1646 Swedes form on Tinicum Island.

1681 William Penn lays out city.

1682 Land purchased from Swedes. Great Treaty of Friendship with Lenape Indians est.

1684 The first wharfs are built.

1687 Log Cabin Prison erected at Second/High.

1689 Friends Public School est.

1690's Philadelphia becomes a trafficker of pirated goods. Large waves of German immigrants begins.

1693 Slate Roof House built house Samuel Carpenter as well as William Penn.

1696 The Great Meeting House is constructed at the corner of High and Second Street.

1701 Municipal Charter est. Christ Church est at Second/High/Mulberry.

1702 Queen Anne's War begins.

1704 Buttonwood Presbyterian Church est. at High/Bank.

1708 First court house est at High/Second.

1713 Treaty of Utrecht ends Queen Ann's War.

1719 First newspaper American Weekly started.

1722 New prison at Third/High erected.

1723 Ben Franklin arrives in Philadelphia.

1724 Christ Church est at Second/Market.

1729 Philadelphia Gazette begins.

1730 Large waves of Northern Irish begins. Large fire rages in city.

1732 State House building begins. Friends Alms House erected.

1733 Poor Richard's Almanac est. German Reformed Church erected. First Catholic Chapel erected in St. Joseph's parish.

1736 Philadelphia Fire Dept began.

1740 Large waves of Scot-Irish.

1741 State House completed. First large riots recorded in Philadelphia.

1743 St. Michael's German Lutheran Church erected.

1747 Union Library Company est. Batteries are est to protect against French and Spanish pirates. Franklin published The Plain Truth.

1751 Liberty Bell rings. Franklin's Philadelphia Experiments propels science.

1753 Due to crack bell is recast. Anti Catholic sentiment surges as bigots try to burn down St. Joseph's Chapel.

1754 French Indian War.

1755 College of Philadelphia est. Pennsylvania Hospital est. Regular mail service begins to New York.

1758 Franklin writes The Way to Wealth, Poor Richard's Almanac. St. Peter's Chapel added.

1760 Large group of German immigrants. St. Paul's Chapel added.

1763 British victory signed in Paris.

1765 The Stamp Act - the beginning of the end for England in the colonies.

1764 The Currency Act - England tries to control colonial paper.

1767 Townshend Revenue Acts - more fuel on the fire.

1773 The Tea Act - the final blow. Riots and protest follow in force.

1766 Southwark Theater opens.

1774 Paul Revere rides into town with news. The first Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.

1775 Lexington and Concord news reaches Philadelphia. America is at war. George Washington enters the city to command the Continental forces.

1776 A call for the est of government free from British rule. Founders like Thomas Jefferson and John Hancock work to est uniformed voting. Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence at Market/Seventh. On the 4th of July the a href="http://www.oldworldphilly.com/redirect_gov.html" title="Liberty Bell" target="_blank">Liberty Bell ring to proclaim freedom throughout the land. Smallpox hits population.

1777 Cornwallis marches into Philadelphia. Battle of Germantown occurs.

1778 American soldiers are almost starved to death in British prisoner camps. American troops return to capture Philadelphia. A great fire hits the city.

1779 University of Pennsylvania est.

1782 Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown.

1783 Signing of the peace treaty Paris. George Washington enters the city victorious.

1790 Philadelphia temporary federal capital.

1791 Chestnut Theater built.

1793 First Presbyterian Church built. Yellow fever hits.

1794 John Jay's treaty signed.

1799 George Washington dies.

1800 Philadelphia is America's largest city with a pop of 65,000.

1805 Academy of Fine Arts est.

1812 War. Academy of Natural Sciences est.

1824 Historical Society of Pennsylvania est.

1829 Delaware Canal completed.

1832 Germantown railroad completed.

1833 US Mint built.

1834 Alms house built at Blockley. Merchant's Exchange built on Walnut.

1836 Philadelphia Bank built.

1837 Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society est.

1835 Worker strike to get 10hr day.

1836 Philadelphia's Central High School is built.

1837 Edgar Allan Poe enters Philadelphia.

1839 St. Patrick's built.

1840 Large foundries and factories start est. With the Irish famine large masses of rural Irish immigrants flood the city. Anti Irish Catholic and anti Black (pro slavery) bias erupts for the 1840's. The Industrial Revolution begins as poverty escalates.

1843 Large riot against Irish Catholic occurs.

1844 Another large riot against Irish Catholic occurs.

1847 Philadelphia College of Medicine is est along with the American Medical Association.

1849 Cholera hits the city.

1850 Gangs start to show their faces.

1851 St. Joseph's College est.

1852 Smallpox hits.

1853 Several Streets change names High St to Market St, Mulberry to Arch, Sassatime to Race, Cedar to South. St. Peter's School est.

1855 Sanford Opera House est. Know Nothing Party est.

1861 Civil War begins.

1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Emancipation Proclamation. LaSalle College est.

1865 Abe Lincoln killed.

1866 Civil War ends.

1870 Synagogue of Congregation Rodeph Shalom built.

1873 Masonic Temple est.

1875 James Frederic Wood becomes first Roman Catholic archbishop of Philadelphia.

1876 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts built.

1877 Museum of Art est.

1882 Pennsylvania Railroad Depot built.

1883 Phillies baseball team est.

1900 Large Italian immigrant increase.

1904 Bellevue-Stratford skyscraper built.

1905 Large Russian immigrant flood.

WASH DC TIMELINE 1696-1908

1608 Capt John Smith sails the Inner Harbor.

1649 Tolerance Act passes in Maryland.

1654 Tolerance Act over ridden - Catholics banned from practicing their faith.

1657 Calvert loses then regains control of Maryland. Tolerance Act restored.

1689 England and Dutch join in War against France. British Royal Authority takes over Maryland.

1692 Church of England becomes official religion.

1700 Large influx of Irish Catholic immigrants.

1702 Queen Anne's War.

1745 Tobacco inspection points est in Maryland and Virginia. Plan to est point on future DC site.

1718 Anti Quaker and Catholic sentiment raises to isolate them from voting and rights.

1760 Oldest building in DC is constructed in DC - the Old Stone House at 3051 M Street.
1763 British victory ends war - signed in Paris.

1764 The Currency Act - England tries to control colonial paper.

1765 The Stamp Act - the beginning of the end for England in the colonies.

1767 Townshend Revenue Acts - more fuel on the fire.

1773 The Tea Act - the final blow.

1775 Lexington and Concord news reaches DC. America is at war.

1776 A call for the est of government free from British rule. Founders like Thomas Jefferson and John Hancock work to est uniformed voting. Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence. Continental Congress is located in Baltimore temporarily at Jacob Fite's Tavern on Baltimore St..

1780 Charter set est area that would be known as DC.

1782 Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown.

1783 Signing of the peace treaty Paris.

1790 Philadelphia temporary federal capital. George Washington authorizes the selection of an area on the Potomac not more than ten miles square known as the Residence Act.

1791 City of Washington in the District of Columbia is designated. Pierre L'Enfant appointed to present the city plan.

1793 Capitol Building project begins.

1794 John Jay's treaty signed. Holy Trinity Church est.

1796 St John's Episcopal parish est.

1797 George Washington retires.

1799 George Washington dies.

1800 Federal Capitol moves to DC. John Adams becomes frist president in DC.

1801 Centre Market built on Eight St and Penn Ave NW.

1804 St John's Church built.

1805 Carroll Row built.

1812 War begins.

1814 British burn Capitol Building and White House.

1817 Columbia College est.

1819 Congress returns to Capitol in DC.

1820 Work on City Hall begins.

1829 Capitol Building rebuilt and completed.

1835 Baltimore & Ohio Station completed on New Jersey Ave.

1838 Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.

1850 Chesapeake & Ohio Canal completed.

1861 Civil War begins.

1862 Horse cart taxis increase in use.

1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Emancipation Proclamation.

1864 Slavery abolished in Maryland. Large influx of freed slaves enter DC.

1865 Abe Lincoln killed. Civil War Ends

1867 Black men gain the right to vote in DC. Gallovelet University est. St Mary's Episcopal Church est. Howard University est.

1868 St Joseph's est.

1869 Post Office and Treasury Buildings completed.

1870 Columbia College becomes George Washington University. Baltimore & Potomac Railroad hits DC.

1877 B&O Railroad strike hits.

1881 City Hall completed.

1882 Mount Jezreel Baptist Church est.

1884 Washington Monument completed

1888 DC street cars sites to electric from horsepower.

1890 Georgetown University Hospital est.

1893 St Cyprian's est.

BALTIMORE TIMELINE 1633-1903

1609 Capt John Smith sails the Inner Harbor.

1632 King Charles grants Charter for Maryland to Cecil Calvert.

1634 Calverts settlers arrive in Maryland.

1649 Tolerance Act passes in Maryland.

1729 Baltimore town charter est.

1763 Fells Point is laid out. British victory ends war - signed in Paris.

1765 The Stamp Act - the beginning of the end for England in the colonies.

1764 The Currency Act - England tries to control colonial paper.

1767 Townshend Revenue Acts - more fuel on the fire.

1773 The Tea Act - the final blow. Riots and protest follow in force.

1766 Southwark Theater opens.

1774 Paul Revere rides into town with news. The first Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.

1775 Lexington and Concord news reaches Philadelphia. America is at war. George Washington enters the city to command the Continental forces.

1776 A call for the est of government free from British rule. Founders like Thomas Jefferson and John Hancock work to est uniformed voting. Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence. Continental Congress is located in Baltimore temporarily.

1782 Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown.

1783 Signing of the peace treaty Paris. George Washington enters the city victorious.

1790 Philadelphia temporary federal capital.

1794 John Jay's treaty signed.

1797 Baltimore incorporates.

1799 George Washington dies.

1800 St. Paul's School for Girls is founded. Ship building takes off.

1801 Archbishop John Carroll founds the Baltimore Dispensary providing free medical care to the poor without regard to creed or color.

1802 Humane Impartial Society for Poor and Needy Women is founded.

1803 Hibernian Society formed to aid Irish immigrants.

1804 Baltimore House of Industry is founded by Elisha Tyson.

1806 St. Peter's School is founded as Baltimore's first free school.

1807 Medical College of Maryland is founded.

1808 Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton opens the Female Academy.

1809 Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton est Sisters of St. Joseph. First Roman Catholic elementary school founded.

1810 Elisha Tyson est Baltimore Society to Protect Free Negroes.

1811 Orphaline Charity School for Poor Girls is est.

1812 War begins.

1813 Peale Museum est. Steam boats begin using the river.
1814 Battle of Batimore

1817 Baltimore House of Refuge founded by Elisha Tyson. Gas streetlight used in Baltimore.

1822 McKim Free School est.

1824 Hibernian Free School est for children of Irish immigrants.

1826 Maryland Institute of the Mechanic Arts founded.

1827 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is founded.

1828 St. Francis Academy for black children est.

1829 Delaware Canal completed.

1830 Peter Cooper moves to Baltimore where he will build steam locomotives for B&O Railroad.

1833 University of Maryland Medical School becomes the first in US to teach public health.

1837 Recession hits Baltimore.

1838 Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.

1839 Baltimore Dental College is est. Baltimore City College founded.

1841 Maryland College of Pharmacy is founded.

1844 Maryland Historical Society is founded.

1845 Christian Brothers est Calvert Hall College. Frederick Douglass publishes his life in slavery.

1849 Baltimore Female College for teachers founded. Edgar Allan Poe dies in Baltimore.

1850 Association for the Improvement of the Poor is founded.

1852 Loyola College founded.

1856 Hebrew Benevolent Society founded.

1857 YMCA builds first YMCA in United States.

1860 Children's Aid Society est.

1861 Civil War begins with bloodshed on Pratt Street.

1863 Lincoon speaks at Maryland Institute. Battle of Gettysburg. Emancipation Proclamation.

1864 Slavery abolished in Maryland. German Orphan Asylum founded.

1865 Abe Lincoln killed. Civil War Ends

1866 Female House of Refuge, German Ladies Relief and Peabody Institute Library formed.

1870 Pimilico Racetrack opens.

1873 Johns Hopkins dies.

1876 Johns Hopkins University est.

1877 B&O Railroad strike hits.

1883 Baltimore YWCA opens.

1885 Goucher College formed.

1889 Hopkins Hospital opens.

1893 Johns Hopkins School of Medicine est.

1895 Babe Ruth is born in Baltimore as George Herman Ruth.

1896 College of Notre Dame - Catholic Womens College.

1897 Maryland Public Health Association founded.

NEW YORK TIMELINE 1609-1909

PHILLY TIMELINE 1681-1907

WASH DC TIMELINE 1696-1908

BALTIMORE TIMELINE 1633-1903

NEW YORK
TIMELINE
1609-1909

PHILLY
TIMELINE
1681-1907