Financial District in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Stream for Washing Laundry
Birth of a City: Nieuw Amsterdam & Old New York
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 4, 2009
1. Stream for Washing Laundry Marker
STREAM FOR WASHING LAUNDRY
Location: Maiden Lane
Dutch Name: ‘t Maagde Paatje
Here, in the 1600’s, a stream ran into the East River, along the course of what is now Maiden Lane. A footpath brought Dutch “maidens” to wash laundry in the stream’s fresh water. By 1658 this was known as ‘t Maagde Paatje, the maidens’ path. After the English took over in 1664, it became “Maiden Lane.” When New York City expanded northward above Wall Street and the stream was covered over, the name stayed when the path became an urban street.
Cleanliness was a central value in Dutch culture. In the Netherlands, rich merchants hired poor and peasant women as servants to do the wash and other household work. Some young women emigrated to Nieuw Amsterdam after signing contracts to work as family servants. Dutch settlers also used enslaved Africans as domestic laborers. In many cases, family members shared household toil. Though the Dutch allowed females legal and economic rights denied them elsewhere in Europe, gender roles still dictated that women and girls perform most domestic labor. So Nieuw Amsterdam’s “maidens” found themselves here, doing the family laundry.
Erected 2009 by City Lore & NY 400.
Topics. This historical marker is listed
this page online
Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near 40° 42.586′ N, 74° 0.601′ W. Marker was in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It was in the Financial District. Marker was at the intersection of Broadway and Maiden Lane, on the left when traveling south on Broadway. The marker is on the southeast corner of the intersection of Broadway and Maiden Lane, just south of Maiden Lane. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: New York NY 10038, 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. Broadway – Maiden Lane (a few steps from this marker); William Barthman Jeweler (a few steps from this marker); April 11, 1960 (a few steps from this marker); May 29, 1959 (a few steps from this marker); October 14, 1959 (a few steps from this marker); March 13, 1959 (a few steps from this marker); July 5, 1960
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 4, 2009
2. Marker on the Neuiw Amsterdam Trail
More about this marker. A picture of two Dutch maidens appears at the top of the marker, with the caption “Pieter de Hosch’s scene of two women with linens, painted in the Dutch Republic in 1663, shows a home far more luxurious than any in Nieuw Amsterdam. But the chore of folding and putting away laundry would have been familiar here. So would the linen closet, or Kas, an important piece of furniture in many settlers’ households.” The lower left of the marker contains a map showing the route of the Nieuw Amsterdam Trail in lower Manhattan.
NOTE: By 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 5, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.)
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 4, 2009
3. Stream for Washing Laundry Marker
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 4, 2009
4. Marker on Broadway
This view of the "Stream for Washing Laundry" marker (visible under the T-Mobile sign) was taken from the west side of Broadway.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 4, 2009
5. Maiden Lane
This is Maiden Lane as it appears today, looking west in the direction of the East River. At the time of Nieuw Amsterdam, this was the site of a stream that flowed into the river.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, December 17, 2018
6. Stream for Washing Laundry marker, former site
By December 2018, the marker was no longer present.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 5, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 965 times since then and 41 times this year. Last updated on December 17, 2018, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 5, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 6. submitted on December 17, 2018, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
