The things I have discovered about my ancestors make me wonder how the knowledge of such things could have been lost and forgotten. For example, how is it that no my grandmother never knew (or, at least never told me) that her 7th great-grandfather owned 188 acres of land in New York's Upper West Side, including portions of Riverside Park and Central Park?
In the book, compiled by Marjorie Dikeman Chamberlain, called "Johannes Dyckman of Fort Orange and his descendants", a map marking the land Cornelius Dyckman purchased in 1694 is provided. His land encompassed the space (approximately) between present-day 93rd and 101st Street and from the western side of Central Park to Riverside Park. The map has been recreated here using satellite imagery from Google Maps.
Sources:
Google Maps
“Johannes Dyckman of Fort Orange and his descendants”, by Marjorie Dikeman Chamberlain, 1988.
Central Park in Winter (Currier & Ives)
An interesting documentary about the formation of Central Park can be found here on YouTube.