Shorakkopoch Rock — Attraction in New York

"Tis a shame people fail to read the plaque on the rock. To do so provides a sense of its historical significance. They also fail to think of the massive old-growth tulip tree, its lifespan many, many times of a puny human. It had been alive before Europeans arrived and stood here until the early 1930s (which the rock is a placeholder for; see the black and white image of the tree below from the New York Public Library digital collection dating to circa 1929). The supposed transaction between Peter Minuit and the "Lenape" was more likely between he and the Canarsees (a branch of the Lenape) yet it was really the Weckquaesgeeks who controlled most of Manahatta. So, even if the legend of the sale was true it is unlikely that it was legitimate---and this all fails to account for First People's notions of land ownership (they did not believe in it for the most part). Nonetheless, this is a fascinating and beautiful place to consider the entire scene, fictional or not, it is now New York history...

Maybe the most significant piece of history of Manhattan on this unassuming rock. There is a lot of negativity around Peter Minuit's 'trading' of some trinkets for Manhattan, but in hindsight it showed some respect by the Dutch to even offer a trade at all. Most of the land gained by the English from Native Americans or Australian Aboriginals was just taken without any compensation. And given how small Manhattan really was compared to the vast areas the natives still controlled back then, it might have even seemed like a good...

I love that this spot commemorates the trading of Manhattan Island to the Dutch, though I find it ironic that the spot of a famous tulip tree is now immortalized by a stone with a plaque on it.

Might I suggest that we clear the area a little and plant the same species of tree and honor that memory correctly? I’m sure it will be fine to keep the rock in the...