Stone Street became the first paved street in New York

In March 1657, residents of Breuers Straet filed a petition to pave the street with cobblestone, funding the project with their own money. The petition was approved and, in 1658, Breuers Straet became the first cobbled street in New Amsterdam.

The British took over New Amsterdam in 1664 and renamed it New York. Brouwer Straet was renamed Stony Street, and Hoogh Straet was translated to High Street (from Broad Street to Hanover Square).

In the early 1700s, the east section of Stone Street was renamed once again from High Street to Duke Street. But following the American Revolutionary War in 1783, New Yorkers sought to change names that reflected British rule.

The west section of Stone Street was already called Stony Street at the time, but the city's common council approved extending the name to Duke Street as well. Subsequently, Duke Street and Stony Street officially became one long street named Stone Street in 1794.

At the beginning of the 1800s, Lower Manhattan was starting to get expanded via landfill. As the neighborhood was (literally) growing, Stone Street started becoming increasingly commercial and many residences on and around Stone Street were subdivided.

In 1811, the common council approved petitions to widen Stone Street, and the street was expanded by about 4 feet for $150,000 (equivalent to about $3.4 million in 2023).