In the 19th century, Long Island was still mainly
rural and devoted to
agriculture. The predecessor to the
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) began service in 1836 from the
South Ferry in
Brooklyn, through the remainder of Brooklyn, to
Jamaica in
Queens. The line was completed to the east end of Long Island in 1844, as part of a plan for transportation to
Boston. Competing railroads, soon absorbed by the LIRR, were built along the south shore to accommodate travelers from those more populated areas. For the century from 1830 until 1930, total population roughly doubled every twenty years, with more dense development in areas near Manhattan. Several cities were incorporated, such as the "City of Brooklyn" in Kings County, and
Long Island City in Queens.
