Map of allotment No. 3 of the Turtle Bay Farms in the 12 Ward of the City of New York belonging to the estate of D.W. Kissam Jr. Dec’d.

Mid-19th century manuscript copy of an early New York real estate plan.

This rare hand-drawn survey plan illustrates the process by which large plots on the island of Manhattan were subdivided and sold during the 19th century. Several blocks around the intersection of 4th Street and 2nd Avenue, formerly farms, have been broken into numbered lots ready for sale. Only two buildings are noted – a dwelling and its barn.

The area was originally granted to two Englishmen by the Dutch governor of New Amsterdam in 1639 and named Turtle Bay Farm. A portion was acquired by Dr. Daniel Whitehead Kissam in the early 1800s, though residential development wouldn’t accelerate until after the Civil War. Today, the area is part of Midtown East and is just a block away from the United Nations Headquarters, though the neighborhood retains the ‘Turtle Bay’ name.

The image was originally surveyed and drawn by Edward Smith in 1835. According to a note in the lower left, this is a copy created in December of 1869. It was possibly produced as an exhibit for a court case, as text written on the verso reads ’91 Tin Case’.