Why Wall Street Is Named After a Wall That Never Actually Worked
You’ve probably heard the term “Wall Street” countless times, like on the news, in movies, or in conversations about the economy. It carries weight as the center of American finance and has even become a stand-in for the entire financial industry. But most people don’t know how it got its name.
The truth is that Wall Street is named for an actual barrier that once stood in Lower Manhattan. It was built centuries before banks and stock exchanges lined the street, and was supposed to keep invaders out. It never fulfilled that purpose, but its memory lasted long enough to give a name to one of the most famous streets on the planet.
The Dutch Built a Defensive Barrier
Image via Wikimedia Commons/New-York Historical Society Library, Maps Collection
In 1653, Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Amsterdam, ordered a barrier to be built across Manhattan. He wanted to protect the Dutch settlement against English colonies to the north and potential Native allies. Wealthy residents funded the project, but enslaved Africans supplied the labor that created the structure.
The structure stretched across the island and ran along what is now Wall Street. It stood about twelve to fifteen feet tall and was reinforced with earth and stone. The timber for the wall came from Englishman Thomas Baxter, a merchant who did business with the Dutch. Ironically, Baxter later switched sides and led raids against Dutch ships.
The Wall Never Faced the Battle It Was Built For
The defensive barrier included gates at Broadway and Pearl Street, as well as brass cannons. It looked formidable, but it was never tested in the way its builders expected. In 1664, the British seized New Amsterdam and renamed it New York without assaulting the wall.
By 1699, the wall no longer served a purpose. The colonial government ordered it torn down. Some of its wood and stone were reused in the construction of a new City Hall, but the name “Wall Street” stayed attached to the area.
How the Name of the Street Came to Be
Image via Pexels/Дмитрий Трепольский
The Dutch themselves had called the area by different names. Some records refer to it as the “Cingel,” meaning encircling street. While other accounts suggest “De Waal Straat,” a name that might have honored the Walloon settlers, French-speaking Belgians who were part of the colony. As time passed, English speakers adopted the simpler “Wall Street.”
Wall Street Became a Market Center
By the early 1700s, Wall Street had shifted from defense to commerce. Markets lined the street, and in 1711, New York’s city government authorized an official slave market along its eastern end. It remained there until 1762 and tied the street to an economy that depended on slavery.
The street also hosted City Hall, Trinity Church, and later Federal Hall. In 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of the United States at Federal Hall.
Traders Signed the Buttonwood Agreement
Image via Canva/kanchanachitkhamma
After the Revolutionary War, merchants and brokers began gathering under a buttonwood tree near Wall Street. On May 17, 1792, twenty-four of them signed an agreement that set rules for trading securities. It became known as the Buttonwood Agreement and created the framework for the New York Stock Exchange.
The stock exchange gave the street its new identity as a financial hub. Within decades, it became the core of American markets, thereby attracting banks, investment houses, and brokers.