The area around present-day Union Square was initially farmland. The western part of the site was owned by Elias Brevoort, who later sold his land to John Smith in 1762; by 1788 it had been sold again to Henry Spingler (or Springler). On the eastern part of the land were farms owned by John Watts and Cornelius Williams. The northwestern corner of the park site contained of land owned by the Manhattan Bank, which supposedly was a "refuge" for businesses during New York City's yellow fever epidemics.