CHAPTER   III
 

THE  EARLY  PROGRESS  OP  THE  CITY.
 

As the affairs of the city began to assume a settled con¬
dition, the public authorities and citizens turned their
attention to the building of public and private edifices
adapted to the wants of the colony.

The fort was probably the first permanent structure
raised by the company on this island; the building erected
for this purpose being a block-house, surrounded by red
cedar palisades, constructed in 1626. In 1633, Van Twil-
ler, then the Director General, commenced the erection of
a new fort, on a larger scale, being about three hundred
feet long and two hundred and fifty feet wide, which was
finished in 1635, at an expense of one thousand six hundred
and eighty-eight dollars.

The site of this edifice was on the blocks now inclosed
by the streets called Bowling Green, Whitehall, Bridge
and State streets. This extensive structure was, for the
most part, a mere bank of earth, except the points, or ex¬
tended corners, which were of stone. It was at first occu¬
pied as the Governor's quarters and inclosed his residence,
and the several offices connected with the government; the
soldiers were also quartered there.

The first church edifice, built exclusively as a place of