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Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the land north of the East River was occupied by the [[Siwanoy]]s, one of many groups of [[Algonquin language|Algonquin]]-speaking [[Lenape]]s in the area. Those of the Lenapes who lived in the northern part of Manhattan Island in a campsite known as [[Konaande Kongh]] used a landing at around the current location of East 119th street to paddle into the river in [[canoe]]s fashioned from tree trunks in order to fish.<ref>Burrows and Wallace, pp.5, 6–8</ref>
Dutch settlement of what became [[New Amsterdam]] began in 1623.<ref name=history /> Some of the earliest of the small settlements in the area were along the west bank of the East River on sites that had previously been Native American settlements. As with the Native Americans, the river was central to their lives for transportation for trading and for fishing.<ref name="living">{{cite web |last=Baard, |first=Erik (|year=2008) [|url=http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/living-on-the-river/index.html "|title=East River: Living on the River"] {{webarchive|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126005915/http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/living-on-the-river/index.html |archive-date=January 26, 2017}} ''|website=East River NYC''}}</ref> They gathered marsh grass to feed their cattle, and the East River's tides helped to power mills which ground grain to flour. By 1642 there was a ferry running on the river between Manhattan island and what is now Brooklyn, and the first pier on the river was built in 1647 at Pearl and Broad Streets. After the British took over the colony in 1664, which was renamed "New York", the development of the waterfront continued, and a [[shipbuilding]] industry grew up once New York started exporting flour. By the end of the 17th century, the Great Dock, located at [[Lower East Side|Corlear's Hook]] on the East River, had been built.<ref name="history">{{cite web |last=Baard, |first=Erik (|year=2008) [|url=http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/history-to-1815/index.html "|title=East River: History to 1815"] {{webarchive|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408035959/http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/history-to-1815/index.html |archive-date=April 8, 2016}} ''|website=East River NYC''}}</ref>
===Narrowing the river===
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