Before European colonization, the Hunts Point area of the Bronx was associated with the Siwanoy Native Americans, which were part of the broader Algonquian cultural and linguistic group. It was then known as Quinnahung, meaning “a long high place”, later taking its current name from 17th-century landowner Thomas Hunt Jr. During the late-17th to early-19th centuries the area was known as West Farms, and was composed of rural estates owned by a few English families who relied on an enslaved labor force to cultivate the land. Vestiges of these early inhabitants can still be found in the Joseph Rodman Drake Park, with recent studies pointing towards the existence of an enslaved African people burial ground. The arrival of the New York and Harlem railroad line, which crossed the Harlem River, brought a rise in population to The Bronx during the mid-19th century. Hunts Point, however, remained picturesque and undeveloped, attracting prominent, wealthy businessmen who purchased farmland and established grand country manors. Though most of the houses from this period have been demolished, the Peter S. Hoe House, known as Sunnyslope, is an unusual survivor of the neighborhood’s rural past. The construction of the Corpus Christi Monastery at the end of the 19th century was also motivated by this bucolic environment. After the area’s annexation to New York City in 1874, a series of infrastructure improvements were implemented to increase transportation communication with Manhattan. The opening of IRT stations at Simpson Street, Prospect Avenue and Intervale Avenue, provided more immediate access to Hunts Point, boosting the neighborhood’s development. City services were also expanded, with new buildings for the NYPD and the FDNY, as well as the Joseph R. Drake Public School. Industrial development was also fueled by the continuous improvements of transit to and from the area during the 20th century. Large companies like the American Bank Note established their operations in the area, also boosting residential development. One of the earliest examples of private homes for middle-class families are located in Manida Street. Urban growth continued throughout the first half of the 20th century, with population increases marked by immigration waves. This had a strong effect on the neighborhood’s character, most notably during the 1950s and 60s, when it became a hub for Latin American culture. Some of the most influential venues in Latin music were established in former theatres located alongside Southern Boulevard, attracting crowds from all boroughs. Community organizing has also been a constant element in Hunts Point, especially after the social and economic crisis of the 1970s and 80s. Organizations like Urban Health and The Point have had a strong impact in the neighborhood’s development, and continue to work towards its protection and improvement.

Looking northeast along, Westchester Avenue at East 167th Street, April 26, 1938. The elevated structure in the distance is the IRT Pelham Bay line as crosses over the Bronx River, above Westchester Avenue.

East 167th Street adjacent to the northwest corner of Simpson Street, 1942. On this block the only building still standing is the four-story brick structure at the far right. Both the large apartment house on the next corner and the small mansard roof structure mid-block have been razed and not replaced.

Whitlock Avenue, south of Westchester Avenue, July 13, 1917. The dirt path pictured is Whitlock Avenue, which today carries an elevated section of the IRT Pelham Line (6) through the Foxhurst section of the Bronx, before the line makes an easterly turn to cross the Bronx River. The site in the foreground is now the Whitlock Avenue Station. At left, gantries over the tracks of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad are visible. Two of the brick apartment buildings at right are still standing on the south side of Lowell Street.

Holy Trinity Church, 1938. Constructed for the Free Magyar Reform Church, a Hungarian-speaking congregation in 1909, this church sits on a triangular lot. The apse of the building (the recess that usually includes the altar) is here at the narrowest point of the lot at the corner. A delightful, slim, polygonal cupola tops the variegated brickwork church. Later the Thompson & Frohling-designed building became the home of the Trinity Lutheran Church, as is depicted in this 1938 photograph. In the mid-1950s the church was sold to an A.M.E. Zion Church. In 1978 it was renamed for Dorothy L. Jordan Walls, wife of AMEZ Bishop. Mother Walls Church celebrated their 50th anniversary at this home in 2005.

Vyse Mansion, ca. 1893. Described as "one of the Bronx's most attractive homes" the Vyse Mansion was surrounded on all sides by tall two-story Corinthian columns that created a first floor piazza and a second floor porch. According to an 1886 'History of Westchester County' (this area was Westchester at that point), the home was erected by a wealthy Irish linen merchant named Thomas Richardson and later owned by its namesake, a T.A Vyse. The large estate was known as "a model of rural beauty" with grottos, aviaries, statues, and conservatories. A 'History of the Bronx' published in 1906 states the mansion was demolished "a few years ago" and had been replaced by a number of houses.

FDNY Engine 82, early 20th century wagon.

New York, Westchester & Boston Railway, November 17, 1916. The New York, Westchester & Boston Railway was an electric commuter railroad in the Bronx and Westchester County in operation from 1912 until 1937. For most of its history it was operated by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. This Westchester Avenue Station was designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert, and completed in 1908. The Gothic style building is richly decorated with terra cotta tiles. This was one of 12 stations Gilbert was commissioned to design for the railroad, and one of the handful that were actually constructed. The style of this station displays details that Gilbert would repeat a few years later on his NYC magnum opus, the Woolworth Building. Service to the station ceased in 1931, with the line being completely out of service by 1937. With the introduction of the subway to this area of the Bronx in the 1920s, the stations on this line never saw the commuting traffic that had been planned for. Today the station is abandoned, overgrown, and nearly in ruin. The station, which partially projects over the tracks below, has been listed on the Landmarks Conservancy's list of endangered places for years. In 2012 a proposal was created for the restoration and reuse of the building, but as of 2018, this project does not seem to have commenced.

Hunt Inn (also called Fox Farm House), ca. 1890. Bryant Avenue, west side, from Westchester Avenue to East 167th Street, showing the Hunt Inn which was erected in 1666. It stood in rear of the Foxhurst Mansion on the grounds bounded by the triangle of Westchester Ave., West Farms Road and East 167th Street. It was a prominent rendezvous of British officers during the American War for Independence. The home was destroyed in a fire on Easter Sunday 1892.