Tom Crimmins Realty Blog - History

1695 — Voorlezer’s House, now the nation’s oldest school building, is built

Built in 1696, the Voorlezer's House is the oldest schoolhouse in America. The clapboard house is also the oldest relic from the Dutch settlement on the Island from the 17th century. The word "voorlezer" comes from the Dutch which means "one who reads to other."

History

The house had three purposes: serve as a church, a school from boys and girls, and a residency. The house had numerous homeowners but the longest family lived in the Voorlezer's House for 150 years.

The school's population were children between the ages of 7 and 12. The parents paid for their children to learn reading, writing, arthimetic, religion and Dutch history. Arthimetic was taught to both boys and girls so they would learn how to maintain a home and business when they…

5489 Views, 0 Comments

Nov. 1, 1683 — Staten Island is first named Richmond County after Duke of Richmond

King Charles of England named Richmond Country, after Charles Lennox Duke of Richmond, who was Charles II’s illegitimate son.

What's In A Name?

Staten Island, and the other boroughs, became a part of Greater New York City in 1898; Staten Island then became known as the Borough of Richmond. Less then one hundred years later, the Borough of Staten Island suffered another name change. The Borough of Staten Island became the island’s official name in 1975.

There is a rumor that Staten Island became a part of Greater New York City because a New York sailing team beat a New Jersey team when they sailed around the island in one day.

Then And Now

Richmond County was a rural community; it was well known for farms, mills and shell fishing. Although…

2661 Views, 0 Comments

Aug. 20, 1661 — First permanent European settlement at Oude Dorp

Although there were already settlements in Manhattan by the 1620s, Staaten Eylandt was uncolonized until years later. It took many decades to be colonized because of feuding between settlers and tribes on the island. The disputes between the two were diminished, the Dutch established a colony called Oude Dorp, or Old Town, near South Beach in 1661. Cornelis Melyn was a patron of Staten Island who wanted to insure the island would be in good hands. Melyn had sold his rights to Staten Island to the West India Company for five hundred dollars; grants of the land were handed to.

Stuyvesant's mission was to put the lands in better condition. He did this by having the vacant lots about the fort either built upon or cleared. The hog-pens, which had been in…

2856 Views, 1 Comments

Sept. 3, 1609 — Henry Hudson sights island, naming it Staaten Eylandt

Born in 1565 and the grandson to the founder of the Muscovy Company, Henry Hudson became famous for discovering Staten Island. From a very young age, Henry Hudson studied navigation, mathematics and seamanship. Like da Verazzano, Hudson was funded money to make voyages to discover a passage to Japan and China.

The Discovery

The Dutch East India Company provided Hudson with a ship, The Half Moon, to carry him and his small crew on their voyage. The original plan was to sail towards Russia. However, due to freezing weather and ice blockage, Hudson refused orders to return to Amsterdam. He decided to change route and travel west, leading him towards the New World. There was no other European before Hudson that decided to travel as far west and north…

4898 Views, 0 Comments

April 1524 - Discovery of the Verrazano - Narrows

Giovanni da Verrazano was born in Greve in Chianti, Italy.  In the early 1500s, Verrazano gained an interest in the navy's mission and tactics; he began sailing as a pirate and became determined to find a passage to the Orient.  Verrazano took part of France's Francis I's naval service. 

The Voyage

In the 1520s, Verrazano prepared his ship, Delfina which is named after the King's firstborn daughter, to partake with three other ships on an eight month voyage to discover a quicker route to the Orient. Only La Dauphine had surpassed the voyage, managing to have enough supplies and avoid becoming shipwrecked. Cape Fear, North Carolina was the first sight of land Verrazano came across; but Verrazano continued traveling north of the coast. 

In the…

4756 Views, 0 Comments

Late 1400s - The Iroquois Impact on Present Staten Island

Before Staten Island was known as the Forgotten Borough, it was actually named 'Monacnong,' by the original Indian inhabitants, which means Enchanted Woods. The main groups that lived along the outskirts, rivers and lakes, and mountains of Staten Island and New York were the Algonquians, Iroquois, and the Lenape people. Staten Island had mountains? Yes, the last ice age created landforms like mountains and valleys when glaciers had covered the land.  

The tribes traded and grew plants among the Hudson RIver, Delaware River, and the Long Island RIver. Their famous crops were called the "The Three Sisters." "The Three Sisters" were the corn, bean and squash.

The Algonquians and the Iroquois have made many contributions to the Staten Island and New…

4244 Views, 0 Comments