Manhattan Border War

There is a small part of Manhattan that is physically part of the Bronx borough to the north. It is the neighborhood of Marble Hill. The two boroughs have been playing tug of war over this former island neighborhood for over a century.

The quarrel started with the building of the Harlem Ship Canal, which cut right through Manhattan's northernmost neighborhood, turning Marble Hill into an island. During 1914 the canal was filled in, making Marble Hill now physically part of the Bronx, but still legally part of Manhattan.

What's in a Name, Bronx

A seventeenth century Scandinavian man by the name of Jonas Bronck immigrated in 1639 to New Amsterdam (now New York), which was right next to the Bronx River, that was later named after him.

Jonas owned a 680 acre farm called 'Bronck’s Land' and the river abutting it 'Bronck’s River'. Various people owned this property and kept the name, until Colonel Lewis Morris acquired it and renamed it the 'Manor of Morrisania'. The river next to it continued to be called Bronck’s River. From the river’s name, the modern-day name of 'Bronx' extended to the region directly around it.

The spelling change happened around the same time there was a big push for the simplification of English, such as thre names of the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, from 'Socks'.