What had yesterday been rural districts were suburbs today.
In 1806 there were as many as fifteen families in this neighbourhood rich and great enough to have carriages.

Colonel Turnbull had an "out of town" house at, approximately, Eighth and Macdougal streets,--a charming cottage, with twenty acres of garden land which today are worth millions.

Growing tired of living in the country, he offered to sell his place to his friend, Nehemiah Rogers; but the latter decided against it.
"It is too far out of town!" he declared.
"But you have a carriage!" exclaimed the Colonel.

"You can drive in to the city whenever you want to!" The distance was too great, however, and Mr.Rogers did not buy.
By 1826, however, the tide had carried many persons of wealth out to this neighbourhood, and there were more and more carriages to be seen with each succeeding month.

All at once, high iron railings were built about the deserted Potter's Field,--a Potter's Field no longer,--and on June 27th of that year a proclamation was issued: "The corporation of the city of New York have been pleased to set apart a piece of ground for a military parade on Fourth Street near Macdougal Street, and have directed it to be called 'Washington Military Parade Ground.' For the purpose of honouring its first occupation as a military parade, Colonel Arcularis will order a detachment from his regiment with field pieces to parade on the ground on the morning of the Fourth of July next.