2. Frankfort Street
Jacob Leisler, a wealthy merchant and militiaman who had come to New Amsterdam in 1660, named the path leading from his house Frankfort Lane (now Frankfort Street) in a salute to the town of his birth in Germany. As word of the Glorious Revolution in England made its way to the colonies, Leisler led a revolt against the British and seized control of New York’s government (1689-1691). Charged with treason by Parliament, Liesler was hanged at the corner of Frankfort Street, near the old Hall of Records.
Leisler was the only New York governor to be hanged. After he was executed, however, Parliament reversed his conviction of treason and in 1695 restored Leisler’s estate to his heirs. In later years, Leisler was looked upon as a martyr to the cause of constitutional liberty, and Frankfort Lane endured.