Origin of Wallstreet and the Buttonwood Tree

In 1792, before the days of electronic stock exchanges and clearing houses, before there were electricity, there was a short little street at the very edge of a town called Manhattan in New York city. In the oldest part of town, the street got its name from a wall, built as a fortress from foreign invaders

Away from the protection of the fortress stood a buttonwood tree. Its spindly branches and long shadows marks the spot where traders would meet every day to trade shares of a stock. The practice became so common place, that soon people from everywhere congregate under every available trees in the area and along the makeshift open space along Wall street.

Today, Wall Street refers to New York's financial district -- where investors and traders continue to buy and sell stock.