Tomorrow: Urban Archaeologist Discusses Brooklyn’s Dutch Farmhouse Past During Talk At New Utrecht Reformed Church

The following press release was sent to us by the Friends of Historic New Utrecht:

Brooklyn’s old Dutch farmhouses and their importance to our history will be the subject of an illustrated lecture by an urban archaeologist, Dr. Christopher Ricciardi, in the Parish House of the New Utrecht Reformed Church on Tuesday, June 17, at 7:30 p.m. The program, “Disappearing Dutch Brooklyn – Where Have All the Houses Gone?”, is being offered free of charge by the Friends of Historic New Utrecht.

At the end of World War II, there were still 70 Dutch farmhouses and barns in Brooklyn. Only 13 of these important reminders of Brooklyn’s Dutch settlers and its agricultural past now remain. In the program, Dr. Ricciardi will explain how such sites can add to our understanding of our community’s history.

Appropriately, he will be speaking on the landmarked campus of the New Utrecht Reformed Church, a congregation organized by the Dutch settlers of the area in 1677. The Parish House is at 18th Avenue and 84th Street In Bensonhurst with bus and subway lines nearby. The B8 stops in front of the church; the B1 two blocks away on 86th Street, The church is one block away from the D line’s 18th Avenue station.

Dr. Ricciardi, a principal of the Midwood-based firm, Chrysalis Archaeological Consultants, served from 1990 to 2001 as Assistant to the Director of the Brooklyn College Archaeological Research Center and from 2001 to 2009 as Chief Archaeologist for the Army Corps of Engineers, New York District.

The program is one in a series of free concerts and history-related events offered each year by the New Utrecht historic organization.

Persons interested in learning more about Dr. Ricciardi’s talk, New Utrecht landmarks and its history are invited to contact (718) 256-7173 or mail@historicnewutrecht.org, visit www.historicnewutrecht.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FriendsofHistoricNewUtrecht.