Lost Inwood

Images of America

by Cole Thompson, Don Rice

Inwood, the northernmost neighborhood of Manhattan, has a rich yet little-known history.


For centuries, the region remained practically unchanged - a quaint, country village known to early Dutch settlers as Tubby Hook. The subway's arrival in the early 1900s transformed the area, once scorned as "ten miles from a beefsteak," from farm to city virtually overnight. The same construction boom sparked an age of neighborhood self-discovery, when vestiges of the past - in the form of mastodon bones, arrowheads, colonial pottery, Revolutionary War cannonballs, and forgotten cemeteries - emerged from the earth. Waves of German, Irish, and Dominican immigrants subsequently produced a vibrant urban oasis with a big-city/small-town feel. Inwood has also been home to wealthy country estates, pre-integration sports arenas, and a lively waterfront culture. Famous residents have included NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Basketball Diaries author Jim Carroll, and Hamilton creator/star Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2019

Reviews

[Samantha Mairson-Dougherty]

Great local history. Enjoyed all the captioned images.

[Maureen McLaughlin]

So interesting to read about how Our Inwood got its start. Some great pics and there's even some by one or two of our favorite Inwood FB photographers!