Cruger's Wharf

The shoreline of lower Manhattan southwest of Old Slip was originally settled by Abraham Martens Clock, a carpenter from Rennselaerswyck up the Hudson near Albany, in 1655. Cruger's Wharf was constructed in 1739 by Henry Cruger, Henry Cuyler and their partners, who had extensive merchant dealings with the West Indies. It was constructed by Adam van Alen, an Albany builder, using 30 foot timbers and ran 170 feet from Clock's Corner at Old Slip, parallel to Water Street. Every 20 feet, a cedar post was set into the wharf for tying up ships. The area between the wharf and the shore at Water Street was entirely filled in by 1765.
There is now a slum on this artificial land, about 64 houses, warehouses and taverns and brothels, to entertain the foreign sailors who come to New York, the ships that tie up at Cruger's Wharf.
Henry Cruger, Sr., who built the wharf, was the son of John Cruger, the 41st mayor of NYC. He left New York City in 1775 to live with his son in Bristol, England, presumably due to failing health but more likely because his Loyalist sentiments were known. His son Henry lives in Bristol and is a member of Parliament. His son John Harris has reportedly been commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Battalion of the Provincial Brigade under Oliver De Lancey.
The youngest son, Nicholas Cruger, was one of the richest merchants in New York City, but moved to Christiansted, St. Croix, to better oversee the business in the West Indies. It was there, at the Cruger Counting House, that Alexander Hamilton, born on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean, was apprenticed at age 12.  
Nicholas Cruger is a staunch financial supporter of the Rebel cause, despite his family's Loyalist leanings.

Type

Neighbourhood