In the early part of this century a murder was committed in the town, and in fact the only one that we have any account of. It occurred on the farm now in the tenure of Mrs. Catin. The dwelling-house of the ancestor of the family of Martense, who possessed a very extensive tract of land, was situated on the rear of the farm. From his owning and cultivating so large a quantity of land, he was called by way of distinction Martin De Boer, (Martin the Farmer.) He built a new house on the main road in front of his farm near the site of the present dwelling of Mrs. Catin. When he moved to this house he left in the cellar of his former old dwelling an Indian. This person it appears had been guilty of killing some person or persons on Staten Island. In consequence of this, certain Indians from Staten Island came to Flatbush, found him living alone in the cellar of the house which stood separate from the other dwellings, and murdered him--thus glutting their revenge. During the first half of the last century, the inhabitants of Flatbush were chiefly engaged in certain difficulties of an ecclesiastical character, and during the latter half were occupied with the troubles growing out of the Revolutionary struggle. These will be made the subject of more extended notice hereafter, and we pass them for the present.

The introduction of foreign manures, forms an era in the agricultural history of the town. For more than a century the farmers depended entirely upon their barn yards to furnish the means of enriching their lands, together with such quantities of shell lime as they could manufacture for themselves. There was a lime kiln, situated not far from the place now occupied by the public pound, at which, large quantities of shells were burnt. The lime thus procured, was spread upon the ground, and tended, no doubt, greatly to increase its productiveness. But a short time previous to the American Revolution, the attention of the farmers was called to foreign manures, particularly to ashes. The first that was introduced into the village was by Jacobus Van Deventer. He brought it up from Brooklyn, in bags. It was tried and found to answer a good purpose, and then three other persons, viz. John Lefferts, Cornelius Vanderveer, and Judge Lott, united with him in carting it from the ferry. It could then be purchased at a very moderate rate. From that time the attention of the farmers was more directly turned to the enriching of their lands, and vast quantities of manures of various kinds have since been employed, in consequence of which, the land has been rendered rich and fertile.P>

In the year 1758 a new court-house was erected in the town. The first edifice was quite small, and was a distinct building from the jail. One of these buildings took fire in the winter of 1757-8 and burnt to the ground, the other was saved chiefly by throwing snow-balls upon it. It was however subsequently taken down, and in the new building which was put up, accommodations were made for both the court and jail. It was two stories high. The lower floor was divided by an entry, on the south side of which was a room for the use of the jailor, and on the north a room for the confinement of prisoners. The second story was fitted up in a large room for the accommodation of the courts of the county. During the Revolutionary war the British officers then in the place took out all the seats in this room and converted it into a ball-room. This building which cost £448, remained with some repairs, until the year 1792. It being then found inconvenient, too small, and much out of repair, a new one was erected which was placed considerably farther back on the lot,