7. Walloon Settlers Memorial
Located just a short walk from the Verrazzano sculpture, a little further down Battery Place, stands the Walloon Settlers Memorial. The nearly 10-foot monument made of Hainaut granite, a Belgian stone, was designed by famous architect Henry Bacon, who also designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.. The gilded inscription recognizes the Walloon Settlers, a group of Belgian Huguenot families who travelled to America with the Dutch in 1624.
The Walloons were among the first settlers to make the trek across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to the New World. They joined Dutch settlers sailing out on the ship Nieu Nederland, or New Netherland. The Walloons were natives of Belgium who fled to Holland to escape religious persecution. Originally the group, led by Jesse de Forest, planned to settle in a British-controlled colony in Virginia, but the British denied their request. Their petition to the Dutch West India Company was accepted and they travelled with the Dutch to New Amsterdam instead.
Learn more about Manhattan’s history as Dutch New Amsterdam and see how the colony influenced the city we know today on our Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam Tour!
