The Bronx. The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of New York City, in the U.S. state of New York. It has the same boundaries as Bronx County, the third-most-densely populated county in the United States. The Bronx is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York City borough of Queens, across the East River. The Bronx has a land area of 42 square miles and a population of 1,418,207 in 2019. Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highest population density. It is the only borough of New York City not primarily on an island. The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west, and a flatter eastern section. East and west street names are divided by Jerome Avenue. The West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County in 1914. About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the borough's north and center. The Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Garden is thousands of years old; it is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city. These open spaces are situated primarily on land deliberately reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan. The word Bronx originated with Faroese-born Jonas Bronck, who established the first settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639. The native Lenape were displaced after 1643 by European settlers. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bronx received many immigrant and migrant groups as it was transformed into an urban community, first from various European countries and later from the Caribbean region, as well as African American migrants from the southern United States. This cultural mix has made the Bronx a wellspring of Latin music, hip hop and rap. The Bronx contains the poorest congressional district in the United States, the 15th. There are, however, some upper-income, as well as middle-income neighborhoods such as Riverdale, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil, Schuylerville, Pelham Bay, Pelham Gardens, Morris Park, and Country Club. Parts of the Bronx saw a decline in population, livable housing, and quality of life in the late 1960s, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and into the early 1990s, culminating in a wave of arson in the late 1970s. The South Bronx, in particular, experienced severe urban decay. The borough experienced some redevelopment starting in the late 1990s, with concomitant gentrification following. The Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape, while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck. It was divided by the Aquahung River. The origin of Jonas Bronck has been contested. Documents indicate that he was a Swedish-born immigrant from Komstad, Norra Ljunga parish, in Smaland, Sweden, who arrived in New Netherland during the spring of 1639. Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the present-day Bronx and built a farm named Emmaus close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue and 132nd Street in Mott Haven. He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of the mainland immediately north of the Dutch settlement of New Haarlem, and bought additional tracts from the local tribes. He eventually accumulated 500 acres between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which became known as Bronck's River or the Bronx. Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Bronck's Land. The American poet William Bronk was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Bronck's son or his younger brother, but most probably a nephew or cousin, as there was an age difference of 16 years.