Street in New York City to be named for first non-Indian settler

Wednesday, October 3, 2012  

A street in New York City will be co-named for Juan Rodriguez, who is said to be the "first" non-Indian settler in Manhattan.

Rodriguez was born in the present-day Dominican Republic. He arrived in 1613, opened a trading post and learned the Lenape language, The New York Times reports.

A report from the Dominican Studies Institute at City College of the City University of New York said that Rodriguez was "the first historically recorded individual of non-Native American ancestry to have ever resided" in present-day New York City. The Dutch didn't officially settle until 1625.

Rodriguez may have married an Indian woman but records are sketchy.

Get the Story:
City Room: Honoring a Very Early New Yorker (The New York Times 10/2)