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Gravesend, Brooklyn: Lady Moody's Patent and the Old Burying Ground

Gravesend, New York

Pictures from Gravesend

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Old Gravesend Cemetery in autumn The Hubbard House on McDonald Avenue Lady Moody monument, Gravesend

Gravesend was one of the original towns of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, established in 1645 when Lady Deborah Moody and a group of English settlers received a land patent from director-general Willem Kieft on December 19 of that year. Wikipedia describes it as one of the first colonial land charters awarded to a woman. The name is traced to the Dutch 's-Gravenzande, the count's beach or sand, though Moody's English origins have also prompted speculation about the port of Gravesend in Kent. The independent town was annexed by the City of Brooklyn in 1894 and folded into New York City with the consolidation of 1898. What survives of the colonial settlement sits in a few blocks around Gravesend Neck Road and McDonald Avenue: a burying ground established around 1658, and a farmhouse on McDonald Avenue built between 1825 and 1838.

  1. The town's burying ground from around 1658, landmarked in 1976 and on the National Register since 1980.

  2. An 1825-1838 farmhouse on McDonald Avenue, landmarked in 2009. A private residence, not open to the public.

  3. A working Sea Beach Line station listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

  4. Eighty-five acres on Gravesend Bay, renamed in 1998 for the landscape architect.

  5. A sliver of parkland in the old town core, at Gravesend Neck Road and Avenue V.

  6. A playground on Avenue V named for an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty in 1988.

  7. At 2725 86th Street, in business since 1939, and featured on Man v. Food and The Zimmern List.

The colonial core

Old Gravesend Cemetery occupies 1.65 acres at 40 Gravesend Neck Road, bounded by Van Sicklen Street, McDonald Avenue, Village Road and Gravesend Neck Road. It was established around 1658 and holds the graves of the town's original patentees and their descendants; Lady Deborah Moody is traditionally associated with a burial here. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it on March 23, 1976, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1980 under reference number 80002635.

A few blocks north at 2138 McDonald Avenue stands the Hubbard House, a farmhouse built between 1825 and 1838 for Nelly Hubbard. The Lucchelli family bought it in 1904 and occupied it for decades, adding a sleeping-porch wing in 1924 for tuberculosis recovery. It was listed on the National Register on June 2, 2000 and designated an individual New York City Landmark on January 13, 2009. It is a private residence and not open to the public.

A third landmark is a working subway station. The Avenue U station on the BMT Sea Beach Line, between Avenue U and Avenue T and 7th and 8th Streets, was listed on the National Register on July 6, 2005 under reference number 05000675 — not to be confused with the separate, unlandmarked Avenue U station on the Culver Line a few blocks away.

Getting there

Eight stations on three lines are recorded in Gravesend.

On the IND Culver Line, the F stops at Kings Highway, Avenue U and Avenue X, with rush-hour express trains running in the peak direction. On the BMT Sea Beach Line, the N stops at Kings Highway, Avenue U and 86th Street, with several W trips serving them during rush hours; 86th Street is the effective southern terminus for those W trips into Brooklyn, though the N itself continues south to Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue. On the BMT West End Line, the D stops at 25th Avenue and at Bay 50th Street at all times.

Note that Kings Highway and Avenue U each name two separate stations here, one on the Culver Line and one on the Sea Beach Line, several blocks apart.

Spumoni on 86th Street

L&B Spumoni Gardens has been at 2725 86th Street since Ludovico Barbati founded it in 1939, and it is still operating there. It has been featured on Man v. Food and on Andrew Zimmern's The Zimmern List, and a second location opened in DUMBO in 2024. Wikipedia places the original in Gravesend, while one of its own source citations files the address under Bensonhurst — the same contested strip along 86th Street that unsettles neighborhood lines all along this part of Brooklyn.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Gravesend?
By F, N or D train. The F stops at Kings Highway, Avenue U and Avenue X on the IND Culver Line. The N stops at Kings Highway, Avenue U and 86th Street on the BMT Sea Beach Line, joined by some W trips at rush hours. The D stops at 25th Avenue and Bay 50th Street on the BMT West End Line. All eight stations are recorded in Gravesend.
Who was Lady Deborah Moody?
The English settler who, with a group of fellow colonists, received the Gravesend land patent from Dutch director-general Willem Kieft on December 19, 1645. Wikipedia describes the grant as one of the first colonial land charters awarded to a woman. She is traditionally held to be buried in Old Gravesend Cemetery.
Where does the name Gravesend come from?
Kieft named the settlement after 's-Gravenzande in the Netherlands, meaning the count's beach or sand. A competing tradition links it to the English port of Gravesend in Kent, on the strength of Lady Moody's English origins.
Can I go inside the Hubbard House?
No. The farmhouse at 2138 McDonald Avenue is a private residence, not a public visitor site, despite its National Register listing in 2000 and its designation as an individual New York City Landmark in 2009.
Which parks are in Gravesend?
Old Gravesend Cemetery, a 1.65-acre NYC Parks property at 40 Gravesend Neck Road; Gravesend Triangle, a 0.06-acre sliver at Gravesend Neck Road, East 2nd Street and Avenue V; Galapo Playground at 2401 Avenue V, at the neighborhood's eastern edge; and Calvert Vaux Park, 85.5 acres on Gravesend Bay, which NYC open data files under Community Board 13 alongside Bath Beach.
Where can I eat in Gravesend?
L&B Spumoni Gardens, at 2725 86th Street. Ludovico Barbati founded it in 1939 and it is still operating, and it has been featured on Man v. Food and on Andrew Zimmern's The Zimmern List. No other restaurant with a Gravesend address is listed on this page.

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