The Castello Plan Map is a unique hand-drawn map of the Dutch Colony of New Netherland in the late 1660s. Its incredible detail shows every tree, field, and house, making it an intriguing piece of history. I have spent many hours studying its windmill, formal gardens, canals, and docks, each part offering a glimpse into the past.

The Castello Plan vividly shows the setting for those who lived in New Amsterdam. A lengthy iconography accompanying the map reveals who owed each house and paints a rich portrayal of what it was like there in the 1600s. I was interested in this map to assist in writing my book about Catalyntje Trico, who lived there. Reading through the 142-page iconography, I discovered Catalyntje and Joris lived on Block G, Lot 7, along Pearl Street. While writing my book about Catalyntje, I used what I learned from this resource to help me imagine her life and the interactions she might have had with each of her neighbors.

I was excited when I went to New York and visited the New Amsterdam Plein in Lower Manhattan. The Plein, a four-hundredth anniversary gift from the Netherlands to the City of New York, is a bronze relief replica map of the Castello Plan Map, surrounded by a landscape of small pebbles, some of which had been thrown onto the map, filling the streets between the small buildings. My husband kindly borrowed a broom from a nearby vendor and swept the map off so we could get pictures of it. As my eyes wandered its streets, I remembered who lived in many of the houses. I couldn’t help but outline Fort Amsterdam with my finger and touch the fins of the windmill. Then, I saw Catalyntje’s house, once confined to my research pages but now standing in three dimensions. The map came alive in my mind, filled with the stories and histories I’d spent so much time uncovering. 

I enjoyed the research aspect of writing my book about Catalyntje. Altogether, I read over one hundred books, articles, and primary source documents to accurately create a picture of what New Netherland was like when she lived there. Searching through countless pages of information was fascinating, but being where Catalyntje lived her life was unforgettable because there is a spirit in places where things happened long ago. I was honored to see the replica of the Castello Plan Map, walk along the streets that were once New Netherland, and feel the history that was embedded there in Lower Manhattan four hundred years ago. 

Where have you visited that linked you to the past?