Brooklyn-Born King of the Underworld
Born in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, Al Capone was a crime boss during the Prohibition Era.
Jesus Colon: Stowaway. 1917
Jesus Colon, a Brooklyn Puerto Rican activist, traveled to New York from Puerto Rico on the S.S. Carolina in 1917. At 16 years old, he convinced his friends who worked on the crew to hide him in the linen closet in an effort to escape to New York...
That Red Hook Subway Route, 1923
A reader wrote to the editor of the Standard Union asking about a potential Red Hook subway connection. The editor responded that the subway project was only a tentative proposal. Text of Q&A in the Brooklyn Standard Union, September 7, 1923 To...
Ferron's Strange Murder: The Trial of John M. Wright, a scuffle over coffee?
John M. Wright, a sailor, was charged with the killing of Bernard Ferron, a river speculator on March 16, 1878. Ferron, a Red Hook resident, made his living buying and selling scrap iron from ships. When his body was found weighed down with iron,...
Cargo departures from Atlantic Basin, 1873
Wheat shipments from Atlantic Docks for Rotterdam, Cork, Dublin, Amsterdam, Queenstown, Naples, Belfast, Bangor. Petroleum shipments from Atlantic Docks for Marseilles, Rostock, Stettin, Danzig, Trieste, Antwerp. [Only Red Hooks Docks listed, for...
"Plan of the Town of Brooklyn and Part of Long Island"
Ratzer/Stiles 1767 map.
A version of Bernard Ratzer’s map made by him for the British Government in 1767. A copy of this map appears in Henry R. Stiles’, 1867 book A History of Brooklyn . According to www.geographicus.com, the map was drawn by Henry’s brother Edward...
"Ratzer Plan of the City of New York, 1766"
Bernard Ratzer surveyed the New York City region (including Red Hook, Brooklyn) for the British in 1766-7. His map is the most accurate one known of that time. Initially published in 1770, it was brought to wider attention when Henry Reed Stiles...
Red Hook 'Whisky' Kills Four More, 1922
Four Red Hook residents died from poisoned whisky and three were arrested for selling bad liquor. Michael Keenan, 41, a truckman living at 135 Dykeman Street, became blind and is at the Long Island College Hospital. Last night the police arrested...
Defonte's Sandwich Shop
Don't be put off by a long line, their large and speedy staff cranks out sandwiches fast! This long-time family business slings huge portions to make great Italian hero sandwiches and has its own Red Hook WaterStories. Defonte's Sandwich...
Memories: Coffey Street
Remembrances of life on Coffey and other streets in Red Hook. "Hello all you Red Hookers!!! My good friend… still lives on Coffey St. I live at Dikeman St. Graduated Visitation school June of 1949. We done most of our dancing in Sam's Bar on Beard...