Pre-colonial Sapohanikan was one of at least eighty Lenape habitation sites that have since been identified by archaeologists in the area now occupied by the
five boroughs of New York City. In this area also resided over two dozen planting fields as well as the pathways that interconnected these settlements. Nearby villages included
Nechtanc to the southeast at the mouth of the
East River and
Konaande Kongh to the northwest. The settlement was a cultivated fishing and planting site that could be found along an extensive series of paths leading west toward the banks of the
Hudson River. In the early 1630s, Sapohanikan became increasingly encroached upon by the Dutch settlement of Noortwyck ("north village"). Van Twiller was known as an "insatiable grabber of land from the Indians" who drove the residents of Sapohanikan out of the area with "intermittent, bloody warfare." Van Twiller's
Bossen Bouwerie grew its operations in the 1640s. Nearby Dutch farms were established in the area, neighboring the Bossen Bouwerie, such as the Farm of Coseyn in 1647, which was recorded as being situated along
Sapokanikan wagon road. In the 1670s, Noortwyck was officially renamed Greenwijk ("Pine District") after Yellis Mandeville purchased land in the area. In Mandeville's will, the region was recorded as Greenwich Village in 1696. The usage of
Sapokanikan to refer to the area ceased with the growth of Greenwich under
British rule. The fertile area around what had been Sapohanikan soon became the site of large estates. No formal recognition of the area as Sapohanikan Park was given. As of 2022, this park is referred to as the
14th Street Park on the Hudson River Park website. The artist
Beatriz Cortez is the creator of
Sapohanikan Market, a monument at
Gansevoort Market. == Popular culture ==