Posts from Spuyten Duyvil Library

A Language of Our Own: America’s English and the Influence of Noah Webster

by Rabecca McDonald, Kingsbridge Library
June 17, 2010

Most people are familiar with the name Noah Webster as the father of the American Dictionary, a book that we all grew up with and still use today.  What many people may not know is that besides being a lexicographer, he was also a dedicated orthographer and philologist, working in spelling reform and lingustics, and had a large influence on the early American language.

Webster began his career as a schoolteacher and recognized a need for a quality teaching tool for children learning grammar and 

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History of the Name Spuyten Duyvil

 by Rabecca McDonald, Kingsbridge Library
April 29, 2010

For people not familiar with the Northwest Bronx, the name of the  Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library (\ˌspī-tən-ˈdī-vəl\) can be a tongue twister.  Dating back to the 17th century, the name Spuyten Duyvil originates from the Dutch settlers who gave the name to the creek that flowed around what is today the Marble Hill neightborhood.  The creek has since been filled in, but the name stuck, with several theories about its origin.

Washington Irving 

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