Editing Washington Heights, Manhattan (section)

===18th and 19th centuries===
None of the land in present-day Washington Heights was under private ownership until 1712, when it was parceled out in lots to various landowners from the village of [[Harlem]] to the south.<ref name="ftvicinitylandmark"/>{{Rp|745}} Even after repeated attempts by the Dutch to drive them out, including the bloody [[Kieft's War]] (1643–1645), some Wecquaesgeek managed to maintain residence in Washington Heights up until the Dutch paid them a settlement for their last land claims in 1715.<ref name="audubonparkhd"/>{{Rp|5}} For the greater part of the next two centuries, Washington Heights would remain a home to wealthy landowners seeking a quiet location for their suburban estates.<ref name=encnyc2/>{{Rp|3,542}}

During the [[New York Campaign]] of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], [[George Washington|General George Washington]]'s [[Continental Army]] secured a small but much-needed victory over the pursuing [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British Army]] at the [[Battle of Harlem Heights]], after having suffered a series of defeats in Manhattan.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Battle of Harlem Heights, September 16, 1776: With a Review of the Events of the Campaign|access-date=April 22, 2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTdCAAAAIAAJ|year=1897|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|first=Henry P.|last=Johnston}}</ref>{{Rp|56}}<ref name=washcrossing/>{{Rp|102}} Not long after their victory, the Continental Army suffered one of its worst defeats at the [[Battle of Fort Washington]], in which nearly 2,900 troops were captured.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/generalgeorgewas00leng|title=General George Washington|isbn=9781588364807|first=Edward G.|last=Lengel|publisher=[[Random House]]|year=2005|author-link=Edward G. Lengel}}</ref>{{Rp|165}} [[Fort Washington (Manhattan)|Fort Washington]] was a group of fortifications on the high points of Washington Heights, with its central site at present-day [[Bennett Park (New York City)|Bennett Park]] (known then as Mount Washington)<ref name="ftvicinitylandmark">{{cite book|title=Fort Tryon and Vicinity: A Landmark History|first=Edward Hagaman|last=Hall|access-date=April 22, 2020|year=1917|publisher=[[American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADAbAQAAIAAJ&q=%22fort+tryon+and+vicinity%22+%22edward+hagaman+hall%22&pg=PA735}}</ref>{{Rp|737}} built a few months prior opposite [[Fort Lee, New Jersey]] to protect the [[Hudson River]] from enemy ships.<ref name="gotham"/>{{Rp|229}}<ref name="forttryonhd"/>{{Rp|2}}<ref name=washcrossing>{{cite book|last=Fischer|first=David Hackett|author-link=David Hackett Fischer|title=Washington's Crossing|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=0-19-518121-2|url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonscross00fisc/page/112/mode/1up}}</ref>{{Rp|111}}

Under British control, the position was renamed Fort Knyphausen for the [[Hessian (soldier)|Hessian]] general [[Wilhelm von Knyphausen]], who played a major part in the victory;<ref name="greateststreet">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZD6DgM70pUC|title=The Greatest Street in the World: The Story of Broadway, Old and New, from Bowling Green to Albany|first=Stephen|last=Jenkins|year=1911|access-date=April 22, 2020|publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]|isbn=9783849676384 }}</ref>{{Rp|326}}<ref name=knyphausen>{{cite web|url=https://collections.mcny.org/Collection/Principal-Map-of-the-North-Part-of-New---York-Island,-exhibiting-the-Plan-of-Fort-Washington,-now-Fort-Knyphausen-2F3HRG6VE3V.html|access-date=April 22, 2020|date=1777|title=Principal Map of the North Part of New – York Island, exhibiting the Plan of Fort Washington, now Fort Knyphausen|first1=David Thomas|first2=George|last2=Hayward|last1=Valentine|publisher=[[Museum of the City of New York]]}}</ref> its lesser fortification at present-day Fort Tryon Park was renamed for [[William Tryon|Sir William Tryon]], the last governor of New York before it was taken back by the Continental Army.<ref name="heightseventful"/>{{Rp|158}} The park holds a plaque dedicated in 1909 to [[Margaret Corbin]], an American who took over at her husband's cannon after his death in the Battle of Fort Washington;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park/monuments/533|title=Fort Tryon Park Monuments – Fort Tryon Memorial|access-date=April 22, 2020|publisher=[[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]}}</ref> she was also honored with the naming of Margaret Corbin Drive in 1977.<ref name="forttryonhighlights"/>

At the northwest corner of 181st Street and Broadway (then Kingsbridge Road) was the Blue Bell Tavern, built in the early-mid 18th century as an inn and site of social gatherings.<ref name=heightseventful/>{{Rp|65}}<ref name="greateststreet"/>{{Rp|331}} When [[New York Provincial Congress|New York's Provincial Congress]] assented to the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] on July 9, 1776, the head of the statue of [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] ended up on a spike at the Blue Bell Tavern, broken off by a "rowdy" group of civilians and soldiers at [[Bowling Green (New York City)|Bowling Green]].<ref name="gotham"/>{{Rp|232}}

During the [[Evacuation Day (New York)|British evacuation of New York]] in 1783, [[George Washington]] and his staff stood in front of the tavern as they watched the American troops march southward to retake the city.<ref name="Renner">{{cite book|last=Renner|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OavdyyxSYcQC|title=Images of America: Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill|publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]]|year=2007|isbn=9780738554785}}</ref>{{Rp|17}} After changing ownership several times, the tavern moved to a new building in 1885, following the original structure's destruction for the widening of Broadway.<ref name=heightseventful/>{{Rp|65}}