McDonald Playground

Mcdonald Ave. between Ave. S and Ave. T

Brooklyn

Directions via Google Maps

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

What was here before?
Prior to the arrival of European settlers, this area was inhabited by the Canarsee. Lady Deborah Moody (c.1583-1659), the first woman to be granted a land patent in the new colonies, founded the town of Gravesend in 1643 and created a four-square plan surrounded by protective walls. The plan included a school, church, and cemetery. The Gravesend town charter was one of the first documents in the New World to grant freedom of religious beliefs to its inhabitants. For more than 200 years, Gravesend Avenue was a key route through the county, connecting the City of Brooklyn, and all towns on its way, to Gravesend.

Show Disclaimer