Jonas Brunck’s name lived on through the river that divided his lands, known as the Brunck’s River and pronounced Bronck’s River, The Bronx.
NEW YORK. In 1664, the English took over New Amsterdam and renamed it New York. At the end of the 19th century, New York introduced a system of boroughs and incorporated the lands that Jonas Brunck had once owned into the city area. Maps of the area included the name of the river, Brunck’s River, and that was how the borough of The Bronx got its name.

GAVE HIS NAME. Brunck was one of the first, after the Indians, to see the potential of the land area that is now The Bronx. Brunck is mentioned in literature on the early history of the area as an important European settler. He is said to have written the following in a letter:
“The invisible hand of the Almighty Father surely guided me to this beautiful country, a land covered with virgin forests and unlimited opportunities. It is a veritable paradise and needs but the industrious hand of man to make it the finest and most beautiful region in all the world.”
Jonas Jonasson Brunck from Småland gave his name to his paradise, which today is the borough of The Bronx in New York. Isn’t this a great story?

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