4. The Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhoven House, 1747

Flatlands is the first area in Kings County occupied by European settlers (it was bought from Native Americans in 1636, just ten years after the Manhattan Island was bought), and it’s therefore where most of Brooklyn’s oldest historic sites are located. The Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhoven House is another landmarked building from this area, and it’s an example of the types of farmhouses constructed by Flemish farmers who immigrated to New York from Holland in the 1700s.

The Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhoven House, one and a half stories tall with pitched roofs, projected eaves, shingles and end chimneys, was constructed in two parts – one small wing was built in 1747 and the large majority was built in 1811. The house has actually been moved twice, probably by horse-drawn wagons. John Baxter describes the 1811 move in his diary, and the diary itself has become a valuable primary resource for the neighborhood’s history.

The Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhoven House is located at 1640 E 48th St, Brooklyn.