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Van Cortlandt Park

Van Cortlandt Park
Entrance To Van Cortlandt Park 2012.jpg
Entrance to Van Cortlandt Park
Van Cortlandt Park is located in New York City
Van Cortlandt Park
Van Cortlandt Park is located in New York
Van Cortlandt Park
Van Cortlandt Park is located in the US
Van Cortlandt Park
Type Municipal
Location The Bronx, New York City, New York, US
Coordinates 40°53′52″N 73°53′02″W / 40.8978°N 73.8839°W / 40.8978; -73.8839
Area 1,146 acres (464 ha)
Created 1888
Operated by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Status Open
Public transit access New York City Subway: Woodlawn (NYCS-bull-trans-4.svg train) and Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street (NYCS-bull-trans-1.svg train) stations
New York City Bus: Bx9, Bx10, Bx16, Bx34 local buses, BxM3, BxM4 express buses
Bee-Line Bus System: B-L1, B-L2, B-L3, B-L4, B-L20, B-L21

Van Cortlandt Park is a 1,146-acre (464 ha) park located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The park, which is the city's third-largest, was named for the Van Cortlandt family, which was prominent in the area during the Dutch and English colonial periods. It was established in 1888 and now contains facilities for sports such as golf, cross-country running, and cricket. Contained within the park is the Van Cortlandt House Museum, the oldest surviving building in the Bronx, and the Van Cortlandt Golf Course, the oldest public golf course in the country.

Van Cortlandt Park is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy and the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park.

The forest in what is now Van Cortlandt Park has been around for 17,000 years, since the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. The Wiechquaskeck Lenapes were among the first recorded people to inhabit in the area now referred to as Van Cortlandt Park. They settled in the area around the 14th or 15th centuries. The Lenapes used the geographic features of the area, such as Tibbetts Brook for fishing and flatland areas for farming, to support their community.

The strip of land on the Hudson River's east bank, between the current-day Spuyten Duyvil Creek and Yonkers, was sold to the Dutch West India Company in the early 17th century. Adriaen van der Donck, a Dutch settler, bought the land from the company in 1646. Van der Donck also paid the Indian chief Tacharew, whose tribe used to live on the land, as a friendly gesture. He named the land "Colen Donck" and built a house upon the land. The house was built between current-day Van Cortlandt Lake and Broadway. It faced south, probably because this was the location of a natural marshland. What is now the parade ground was used by van der Donck for farming.


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