The New York office of J. B. Watkins and Company was opened in 1876 and managed by Henry Dickinson until it closed in 1894. Over the years, offices were located at Numbers 243 and 319 Broadway, Number 2 Wall Street, and in the Farmer's Loan and Trust Company building at Number 2 William Street.

The offices served as a conduit through which much of the business of the London and Lawrence office passed. From this vantage, the records of the New York office offer researchers a source for the study of capital investment in western farm mortgages, railroad construction, and land company notes.

The materials contained in the New York office series include "incoming" correspondence dating from 1883 to 1896. Financial statements as well as miscellaneous bills, receipts and statements are also a part of this series. The financial accounts of the office are contained in company cash books, ledgers, and journals from the Lawrence office. The series is a source of materials for those interested in the process of advertisement for/and solicitation of capital investment in various company notes. Much of the correspondence is with current or potential eastern investors in specific Watkins' offerings, including the sale of debenture bonds, railway company bonds, and the Orange Land Company notes.

The materials also reflect the amount of time which J. B. Watkins spent in New York on various business projects. He resided at the Murray Hill Hotel for months at a time during the late 1880s and early 1890s. Watkins was particularly active in New York during periods of intensive railway construction (1889-1892) and following the financial Panic of 1893.