Midwood Brooklyn

The name “Midwood” derives from the Middle Dutch “Midwout” (middle woods; Modern Dutch: “Midwoud”), which the settlers of New Netherland used to describe the densely wooded area midway between Boswyck (Bushwick) and Breuckelen (Brooklyn). Jan Snedeker, Jan Stryker, and Tomys Swartwout sought permission from Director-General Stuyvesant to settle on a level area of wilderness (vlacke bosch, the flat bush) near the farms at Breukelen and Nieuw Amersfoort. Swartwout suggested naming the settlement the village of Midwout or Midwolde. In April 1655, Stuyvesant and the Council of New Netherland appointed Swartwout as a schepen (magistrate), serving with Snedeker and Adriaen Hegeman as the Court of Midwout.

Later, it became part of old Flatbush, situated between the towns of Gravesend and Flatlands. Settlement by the Dutch began in 1652, and although the English conquered the area in 1664, it remained mostly rural and undeveloped until its annexation to the City of Brooklyn in the 1890s. Significant development occurred in the 1920s with the construction of large middle-class housing tracts and apartment buildings.

Many residents refer to Midwood as “Flatbush” or mistakenly consider it part of Flatbush, an older and more established neighborhood and former township that included modern Midwood in the 19th century. The usage of “Flatbush” to mean Midwood dates back to the neighborhood’s formation when it was known as South Greenfield.

Some also consider the nearby neighborhood of Fiske Terrace/Midwood Gardens to be part of Midwood, but, as with many cities, neighborhood boundaries in Brooklyn are somewhat fluid and poorly defined.