Financial District in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Petrus Stuyvesant’s Great House
Birth of a City: Nieuw Amsterdam & Old New York
PETRUS STUYVESANT'S GREAT HOUSE
Location: Whitehall Street between Pearl & State Streets
Dutch Name: Opt Waeter
Near this site stood the “Great House” of Petrus Stuyvesant (c. 1612-1672), Nieuw Nederland’s last director. A colonial administrator who had lost his right leg to a Spanish cannonball in the Caribbean, Stuyvesant arrived on Manhattan in 1647 to impose order on the Dutch West India Company’s diverse and outspoken colonists.
Stuyvesant encouraged the trade in enslaved Africans, and opposed giving rights to Jews, Lutherans, and Quakers. But under his capable rule, the town of Nieuw Amsterdam began to acquire the trappings of a city. Stuyvesant reluctantly surrendered the colony to an invading English fleet in 1664. He retired to his farm, or Bouwerie, in the country (today’s East Village.)
Stuyvesant’s mansion was built here in 1658 close to the shore. The house was located near the town’s first wharf (1648), at what is now the corner of Pearl and Broad Streets. Later generations of New Yorkers added new land and pushed the waterfront out to South Street. An archeological dig on Pearl Street in 1983 unearthed Dutch artifacts, including imported pottery and glassware.
Erected 2009 by City Lore & NY 400.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Colonial Era. A significant historical year for this entry is 1647.
Location. Marker has been reported permanently removed. It was located near 40° 42.153′ N, 74° 0.78′ W. Marker was in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It was in the Financial District. Marker was on Whitehall Street, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located on Whitehall Street between Pearl & State Streets. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: New York NY 10004, United States of America.
We have been informed that this sign or monument is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. American Jewish Tercentenary (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: Three (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: Five (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: Seven (within shouting distance of this marker); Watson House (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein : Six (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: Four (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: Nine (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.
More about this marker. A portrait of Petrus Stuyvesant, painted in Nieuw Amsterdam C. 1660 appears at the upper left of the marker. Next to this is a picture depicting ships approaching the shore of Nieuw Amsterdam. It has a caption of “Stuyvesant’s Great House is one of the buildings on the Nieuw Amsterdam waterfront, to the left of the pier jutting into the East River.” A map in the lower left of the marker shows lower Manhattan Island and the route of the Nieuw Amsterdam Trail.
NOTE: As of December 2018, all the markers in this series had been removed.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Learn about New York City’s colonial Dutch heritage by taking a virtual tour of the Nieuw Amsterdam Trail though lower Manhattan.
Also see . . . City Lore website. City Lore's mission is to foster New York's - and America's - living cultural heritage. (Submitted on November 4, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 4, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 1,137 times since then and 21 times this year. Last updated on December 11, 2018, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 4, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 5. submitted on July 12, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.