An Abbreviated History of Ridgewood

Ridgewood's story begins long before European settlement, when the Lenape people — specifically the Mespachtes tribe — called this land home. In the 17th century, the Dutch West India Company secured a deed from the Lenape, and the area became part of Newtown, one of the original towns in Queens, settled primarily by the British. The neighborhood's history is anchored by the Vander Ende–Onderdonk House, erected in 1709 and now the oldest surviving Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City, where families farmed the land for generations. For centuries, Ridgewood remained rural farmland, its oldest roads — Myrtle Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, and Fresh Pond Road — originally used by farmers to bring their crops to Brooklyn and Manhattan markets. The arrival of public transit in the mid-19th century, beginning with horse-drawn cars and later trolleys and elevated trains, began to transform the area. The big shift came in the early 1900s, when a wave of German immigrants arrived and triggered a massive building boom: over 5,000 structures were constructed between 1900 and the start of World War I, giving Ridgewood the character of brick rowhouses and stooped entrances it is celebrated for today. By the 1930s, the last farmland had been developed. In 1980, after residents actively sought separation from Brooklyn following the 1977 blackout, Ridgewood officially received its own Queens zip code — 11385 — solidifying its identity. In recent decades, as textile mills and factories closed, their spaces were reimagined as artist lofts and creative venues, fueling the indie, artistic culture that defines modern Ridgewood. Named by StreetEasy as the hottest neighborhood to watch in 2025, Ridgewood continues to evolve while proudly honoring its layered history — with nearly 3,000 landmarked buildings and 10 nationally recognized historic districts.