Historic Richmond Town

The Borough of Staten Island

Historic Richmond Town
441 Clarke Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10306
(718) 351-1611

The most populous and commercialized parts of colonial Staten Island were along the island’s shore, but when a seat for the Richmond County government needed to be selected in 1729, the crossroad village of Richmond Town was chosen.

This was not the first time that Richmond Town’s central location had been the deciding factor in its favor. Needing to serve the craftsmen and scattered farmers of the region, the Dutch Reformed congregation chose this place to build a combined meeting house and home for their lay minister and teacher, who lived here with his family from about 1696 to 1701.

A Greek Revival style courthouse building was erected in 1837, and a new County Clerk’s and Surrogate’s Office was added in 1848. Local businesses prospered as people came to town to appear at court, attend church or school, or stop in a tavern. This era came to an end in 1898, when Staten Island became a borough of New York City. Some county functions were gradually absorbed by the city government, and a new borough government center was built at St. George, the island’s closest point to Manhattan.

Today’s Historic Richmond Town includes 27 buildings, many of which have been restored and are open for touring. The museum contains exhibits on many aspects of daily life in 19th century Staten Island, and demonstrations of daily activities are offered throughout the village on a seasonal, scheduled basis.

Now functioning as the Visitor Center, this building served as the Richmond County Courthouse from 1837 through 1919. The Greek Revival structure was actually preceded by two smaller courthouses. On the tour we were told that court was in-session only twice per year; during intervening months litigants and defendants would just have to sit and wait.

What is now the Historical Museum was formerly the County Clerk’s and Surrogate’s Office, built in 1848 with additions made in 1885 and 1911. It was built strong and fireproof in order to protect the numerous official records and documents stored within.

The clapboard frame Voorlezer’s House is the oldest known schoolhouse in America, and also functioned as a church and a private residence. It was built before 1696, and the land-patent for the property on which it is located was granted circa 1680. Voorlezer is a Dutch word that can be translated as “fore-reader”, meaning someone who stands before a congregation and reads scripture aloud. A Voorlezer is an assistant to a pastor, and is authorized to hold religious services and to run a school. The congregation was not large enough to support a “regular” pastor. The ceiling is said to be from the original construction – when visiting historical structures it is relevant to ask what is original and what has been restored.

The Boehm House was originally built around 1750, with an addition made in 1840. Restoration of the interior walls was not completed, in order to allow visitors to see how such houses were constructed. Demonstrated here is the Wattle and Daub method, a technology which has been used for eons, and is still used in some parts of the world today. A series of wooden slats called wattle is daubed with a plaster made from mud, straw and sand. Mud – perhaps made from the region’s red clay – acts as a binder, holding the mixture together. Straw is a reinforcement, controlling shrinkage and providing flexibility. Sand is an aggregate, giving the mix its bulk and dimensional stability.