You hear and read about Wall Street all the time in the news.  And that’s no big surprise.  Because the New York Stock Exchange is on Wall Street.

But have you ever wondered how it got that name?

Here’s how that happened.

When the Dutch had settled in New York around the year 1640 there was a big earthen wall on the northern end of their settlement.  It was there presumably to keep out Indians and other encroachers.  Somehow I think the Indians may have had a different point of view on who exactly were the encroachers.

In any event, there was a street that ran along this wall.  So it became known as Wall Street.

Later, in the 1700’s, at the foot of Wall Street, traders and speculators would gather under an old buttonwood tree to trade stocks and securities.  And in 1792 they formalized their association with the Buttonwood Agreement.  This agreement was the origin of the New York Stock Exchange.

The New York Stock Exchange is still located on Wall Street today.  It’s street and mailing address is …

NYSE Group, Inc.
11 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005

So now you know about Wall Street, how it got its name, and why it is so closely tied with the New York Stock Exchange.

To your health and prosperity – John

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