Home to about 170,000 residents, Gravesend is a residential neighborhood in the south-central section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is near Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach.

It is believed that the first European to visit the Gravesend area was Henry Hudson, whose ship landed on Coney Island in 1609. At that time the area was inhabited by native Lenape people. How the neighborhood earned its name is not known for sure, but it’s commonly speculated that it was named after the seaport of Gravesend in Kent, England. It’s also thought that perhaps it takes its name from a Dutch settlement called “Gravesande.”

Gravesend is thought to have been founded by a woman named Lady Deborah Moody and was the first land title to be given to a woman in the New World. It was also one of the original six towns of Kings County in colonial New York. Originally the town of Gravesend occupied about 7000 acres in Kings County, including all of Coney Island.

Gravesend remained a sleepy suburb throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The area was transformed into the bustling resort community in the late 19th century when three prominent racetracks were opened and Coney Island became known as a popular vacation spot. Gravesend and Coney Island became part of the city of Brooklyn in 1894, around which time one of Coney Island’s first amusement parks, Steeplechase Park, first opened its doors and helped boost Coney Island’s popularity.

Today the neighborhood of Gravesend stretches between Coney Island Avenue, Stillwell Avenue, Kings Highway, Coney Island Creek and Shore Parkway. Sheepshead Bay lies to the east of the neighborhood. Historic locations in Gravesend include the Moody House, the Van Sicklen family cemetery and the Old Gravesend Cemetery where Lady Moody was supposedly buried.