Gemoenepa, now a section of Jersey City called Communipaw, was first settled in the 1630s. In 1658, the farmers living there petitioned for an exemption from tenths, which was granted on the condition that they would form a village. Three years later the villagers, who had not yet been granted lower jurisdiction and thus lacked authority to arrange matters themselves, asked director general and council to determine how they should palisade (affpalissaderen) their village. In reply, the colonial authorities provided them with details: to enclose the village the palisades had to be “of appropriate thickness and length, to about six to seven feet above ground level.” The villagers procrastinated, but the outbreak of further hostilities with the Esopus Indians in 1663 made improving their defences more urgent. They again received permission from director general and council “to enclose [the village] with long palisades.” It is presumed the village extended from what is now Communipaw Avenue on the north to the Bay Shore House on the south.