8. A Tulip Tree Reportedly Marked the Site of the Sale of Manhattan

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Tulip Tree under which the ‘sale’ of Manhattan took place in 1626. Photo via Wikimedia Commons in public domain.

According to legend, in 1626, Peter Minuit, the Director General of New Netherland, “purchased” Manhattan from the Lenape in exchange for a shipment of goods worth 60 guilders (the Netherlands’ form of currency from the 17th century until 2002). The reputed sale took place under a tulip tree, which survived in the location for centuries, growing for 280 years before its death in 1938. Today, the iconic site is marked by a plaque placed there by the Peter Minuit Post of the American Legion.