B. is the headquarters of the 2d division of the national guard of the state of New York. consisting of the 5th and the llth brigades; this force consists of the 13th, 14th, 23d, 32d, and 47th regiments of infantry, 3 troops of cavalry, and 3 batteries of artillery.
The streets, with the exception of Fulton street, the principal thoroughfare, are gen erally straight, have a width of from 60 to 100 ft., and cross each other at right angles. Myrtle and Atlautic avenues are, next to Fulton st., the most active business thorough fares, and contain stores that carryon a large trade. The large number of persons who reside in B. and do business in New York has caused the city to be termed face tiously a " big bedroom ;" in fact, although its own industrial and commercial activity is very great, by far the larger part of the city is devoted to private dwelling-houses. Clin ton avenue is beautifully laid out with handsome residences surrounded by ornamental grounds, and it would be difficult to find in any city a street more attractive of its kind. From a point between the Catherine and Fulton ferry slips to the Gowanus district exteuds along the entire river front an almost unbroken line of storehouses. The Atlantic dock warehouses of South Brooklyn opposite Governor's island cover a space of 20 acres, and inclose a basin 40 acres in area. Here most of the grain brought from the west is handled, stored, and transhipped. The capacity of the grain warehouses is estimated at 12,000,000 bushels; and about 25,000 vessels, exclusive of canal boats and lighters, are said to be annually unloaded. The principal articles are molasses, sugar,
grain, coffee, oil, hides, and wool. The annual storage of merchandise in B. is valued at $261,000,000. Among the numerous manufacturing establishments of B. are the following: Prentice's hat factories; the Brooklyn brass and copper company; the New York agricultural works; the American steel- company's works; the printing house and book of D. Appleton & Co.; the great sugar-refineries of the eastern district; Peter Cooper's glue factory; Kalbfleisch's chemical works, etc.
The first settlement of Brooklyn, formerly Breuckelen, dates from 1636, when a few Walloon colonists took up their residence on the spot that still bears the name of Walla bout. English and Dutch settlers followed; and in 1667, a patent or charter was granted to the town by governor Richard Nicholls. The first church had been erected the previous year. In 1698, the population amounted to only 509 persons, of 65 were slaves. In 1776, the site of the present town was the scene of the battle between the Americans and the British, usually known as the battle of Long island. In 1816. Brook lyn was incorporated as a village, and in 1834 it became a chartered city. Williams burg attained the rank of a village in 1827, and was recognized as a city in 1851. The population of B. was in 1800, 3298; in 1820, 7175; in 1830, 15,292; in 1840, 36,233; and in 1850, 96,850. In 1860, after its consolidation with Williamsburg, the population had increased to 266.661; in 1870, to 396,099; in 1875, to 482,493; and according to the U. S. census of 1880, B. has 554,696 inhabitants.