1869 Walk Along the Gowanus Road to Martense Lane
In 1869 from Henry Stiles - As I walk into the Hamlet of Gowanus, along Gowanus Road I come to the intersection with Martense Lane (35th Street halfway between 4th & 5th). Here is an 8 acre property belonging to John Cropsey. He has a one story frame house near the easterly corner of the Gowanus Road & Martense's Lane.
Living in the Cropsey house was "Grandfather Stoffle" a tall, slim stately gray haired man. For many years he kept school in the neighboring schoolhouse. In the wing of the house, they kept a store and a small tavern. And on the corner of the road they had a blacksmith shop where Cornelius Bennet worked. In this same building was the Red Lion Tavern from the revolutionary war.
On the opposite corner of Martense's Lane stood and yet stands a small house occupied by Gysbert Bogeri a fisherman whose father-in-law Abraham Bennet gave to his daugher the small plot on which the house stood.
Next, on the same side of the road, on a 1 acre plot stood the house of Abrahm Bennet now occupied by Caty, his widow. Her son's - Abraham & William both courted Charlotte Moulison of Canarsie. Abraham was very fond of whisky and carried a bottle with him. Some say sharing his whisky with the girl's father won him the bride, but Abraham died soon after the marriage and William ended up marrying her.
Next to the Bennet house we come to his brother Anthony's house, also one acre. The house is now owned by Abraham Tysen who was a shoemaker and ran a tanning business with his vats located on the low ground near the edge of the meadows.
An old story tells of one time when brothers Anthony & Abraham Bennet were collecting chestnuts in the woods. Anthony was up in the tree on a large branch shaking the tree to cause the chestnuts to fall. But suddenly the branch snapped and Anthony hung about to fall and yelled to Abraham "Draag Fladeren, Abraham, Draag Fladeren Abraham" - Bring leaves, pile leaves under me to fall on". Fortunately Abraham was fast and Anthony fell fairly gently onto the leaves and didn't break any bones.
Continuing along onto the land of Simon Bergen on the same side of the road, and a hundred feet past was the school house district #2 an old one story frame building.
Before this schoolhouse the original schoolhouse was a log house that stood near the swinging gate leading to the John S Bergen house between 2nd & 3rd Ave near today's 44th Street. the teacher was an Irish man named Hogan.
.