The Final Lap
The history of North Brooklyn's street names is an intricate collection of unique stories. Over the previous two articles in this series, we explored the history and origins of Maujer, Suydam, Meserole, Conselyea, Ten Eyck, Roebling and Driggs. In this piece, we will start our stroll in South Williamsburg.
Whipple Street in Williamsburg was named after William Whipple, according to Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss, the authors of Brooklyn By Name, a merchant who was also the New Hampshire delegate to the Continental Congress and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources says, “he believed in taxing heavily and spreading the burden over the entire population.” Outside of his political affairs Whipple was a “sea captain responsible for transporting slaves from the coast of Africa to Portsmouth, N.H.,” after which he began a long and successful military career, quickly getting promoted to Brigadier General of the New Hampshire Militia and leading men in the successful expedition against General Burgoyne at the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga, according to www.ushistory.org. Although all three sources elaborate on the life of Mr. Whipple, they make no statements about how he is actually tied to Brooklyn and why Williamsburg decided to name a street after him.
Java Street is located in North Greenpoint and was formerly called J Street, which has no relation to Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. This Street was the hot spot where coffee and spices were unloaded, according to NYC Architecture. A website that covers the history of Brooklyn Districts and Street Names, www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com, claims that Java Street was named “in honor of [this] exotic cargo that was often unloaded from the ships along the waterfront.” Brooklyn Genealogy also states that Greenoint's ship building industry was started in 1844 when John Enlis established a shipyard on the river between Java and Kent Streets.
Keap Street in Williamsburg was named after a prominent figure in U.S. history, Thomas McKean, who sealed the Declaration of Independence with its final signature. Mr. McKean's signature was misread as “Keap” and the error was never corrected. Nonetheless, the street name Keap actually does refer to Thomas McKean, according to Bernardo and Weiss. Brooklyn Genealogy explains that Tenth Street, in Williamsburg, “was opened in 1851 from Union Avenue to the Brooklyn line on Division and later became part of Keap Street in 1885.”
Lorimer Street, which runs through both Greenpoint and Williamsburg, was named after yet two other prominent citizens in the area. John and James Lorimer Graham were “land-jobbers [active real estate developers] in the area during the first part of the nineteenth century,” according to Bernardo and Weiss. The name Lorimer comes from the mother's maiden name. Mr. Steve Smith, a long-time Williamsburg resident and writer for a business newspaper, claims that Lorimer Street was named after a French General who came over to fight the war against the British. Mr. Smith's family thrives on intimate stories passed down by generations and he remembers hearing this story when he was in grammar school. Mr. Smith's grandfather came to Brooklyn in 1903 as an eye surgeon and members of his family haved lived in Williamsburg ever since. Interestingly, he said, “to this day, the old-timers still pronounce Lorimer, Llama, like the animal.”
This third piece in the series concludes Blocks By Block, our historical stroll around North Brooklyn. We hope you have enjoyed our monthly historical snack.
