shorakapok River The Lenape lived on the island for thousands of years They called it Mannahatta which means island of many hills In groups called clans they moved from beach to meadow to forest as the seasons changed living in villages with names like Sapokanikan and Shorakapok The Lenape hunted fished farmed and foraged for food using what they needed and nothing more They feasted on oysters that grew in beds by the millions and carved wampum beads from the pearl-like insides for trading with other Native people The tides flowed in and out for generations and the island thrived
They felled small trees with their sharp front teeth and built dams made of branches and mud to stop water from flowing This created rich wetland habitats for other plants and animals Once almost 60 million beavers lived on and around the island’s waterways
In 1609 an Englishman named Henry Hudson sailed his ship the Half Moon upriver past the island He was looking for a way to get to China But when he saw the deep harbor tall trees and boundless wildlife he told his Dutch employer back home about the island’s riches The island was about to change Meanwhile back in Europe warm hats made from beaver pelts were the height of fashion The business of trapping beavers in the New World grew quickly They were soon overhunted and completely gone from the island by the 1800s
