Before Staten Island was known as the Forgotten Borough, it was actually named 'Monacnong,' by the original Indian inhabitants, which means Enchanted Woods. The main groups that lived along the outskirts, rivers and lakes, and mountains of Staten Island and New York were the Algonquians, Iroquois, and the Lenape people. Staten Island had mountains? Yes, the last ice age created landforms like mountains and valleys when glaciers had covered the land.
The tribes traded and grew plants among the Hudson RIver, Delaware River, and the Long Island RIver. Their famous crops were called the "The Three Sisters." "The Three Sisters" were the corn, bean and squash.
The Algonquians and the Iroquois have made many contributions to the Staten Island and New York City we know today. Highways, canals and railroad routes were developed accordingly from the tribe's all trails. The U.S. Constitution adopted a handful of principles and policies from the Iroquois Confederacy too. The Confederacy was to ensure there unity and agreements among the tribes. Numerous Indian names were used in memory to their heritage, such as street names in Sunnyside and Grasmere.
See what the homes present in Sunnyside and Grasmere now looks like compared to the Iroquois' longhouses.
Posted by Tom Crimmins Realty, Ltd. on
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