POTD

This fence surrounds Bowling Green, at the southern end of Manhattan. Southern Manhattan is rich with history, and Bowling Green may be at the epicenter.

The land where Bowling Green sits was reportedly a Council Grounds, or meeting place, of the Leni Lenape Indians, the Native American tribe that inhabited Manhattan before Dutch Governor Peter Minuit "purchased" the island.

The early Manhattanites used Bowling Green as a parade ground and marketplace. It wasn't until the 1730s that Bowling Green was leased to a group of private citizens who turned the site into New York's first public park. It was this group of citizens who created a bowling green on the site, giving the park its current name.

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read to George Washington's troops, stationed in Manhattan. Upon hearing the declaration, the troops marched to the Bowling Green. There, they tore down a statue of King George, removing the statue's head and placing it on a stake. Surrounding the Bowling Green was a fence, each twelfth spike decorated with a crown symbolizing the British Royal family. A mob consisting of George Washington's troops and the Sons of Liberty sawed off each crown.

The crowns and the statue of King George were then melted down and fashioned into musket bullets, used to fight the British Army in the American Revolution.

To this day, you can visit Bowling Green and see the fence, originally constructed in 1771, still perfectly intact. The roughly-cut tops of each spike are still there.

This is one of my favorite bits of New York history.