The Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City, is named after prominent German-American businessman John Jacob Astor, said to be the first multi-millionaire in the United States.
In the first half of the 19th century, much of the then-rural area, including the village of Hallett’s Cove, was owned by wealthy fur trader Stephen Halsey. His older brother, John Halsey, was part of an Astor trading expedition that had previously founded a fur trading post named Fort Astoria in the Oregon Country.
Stephen Halsey petitioned the New York state legislature to incorporate the village under the new name of Astoria in 1839, anticipating that it might encourage Astor, who had a home across the adjacent East River, to invest in the neighborhood. It was renamed, but Astor ultimately invested no more than $500.
