All about the Staten Island Neighborhood Rossville:
Staten Island is broken down into 14 different zip codes from 10301 to 10314 and into 67 different neighborhoods. Throughout this series of blogs, we will be discussing each and every neighborhood on Staten Island as well as breaking down the history, what stands there today and transportation and what community district it falls into. Staten Island is broken up into three different community districts which are: North Shore, Mid-Island, and South Shore.
Today we will be breaking down all the history about the Staten Island neighborhood, Rossville. This neighborhood is home to the South Shore & the zip codes 10309 and 10312. It is situated north of Woodrow, west of Arden Heights, to the south and east of the Arthur Kill, and north of Woodrow. In the Staten Island Community Board 3 is Rossville.
The area that eventually came to be known as Rossville was first inhabited by Raritan Indians, and it remained largely free of European settlers until 1684, when the British, who had just won Staten Island from the Dutch in the Treaty of Breda that ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War, conducted the first land survey of the region.
Due to a bar that was situated there, the region was first referred to as Old Blazing Star in the middle of the 18th century and then as Blazing Star. North of Rossville Avenue, right off Arthur Kill Road, there is an abandoned cemetery from the middle of the eighteenth century called The Blazing Star Burial Ground.In the years leading up to the American Revolution, the Blazing Star Ferry was built to transport passengers across the Arthur Kill to Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The New Blazing Star Ferry in Long Neck, which competed with the Richmond Turnpike and had stagecoach and steamboat connections to Philadelphia, was made better by the construction of the Richmond Turnpike, now Victory Boulevard, across Richmond County in 1816.
By the 1830s, the region had been renamed Rossville in honor of Colonel William E. Ross, who constructed a duplicate of Windsor Castle on a cliff overlooking the Blazing Star Ferry's landing. Originally known as Ross Castle, it was eventually renamed Lyon Castle.
Rossville was a prosperous farming settlement by the middle of the 19th century, and the village expanded around it. But once the Staten Island Railroad, which bypassed Rossville, began operating in 1860, most residents of Staten Island started referring to the communities along its path by the name of the closest station; as a result, Rossville was referred to informally as being part of Prince's Bay.
Up to the West Shore Expressway's construction in 1976, the town's demise was a result of its poor mobility. Longtime farmers were encouraged to sell their property to developers as a result of the ensuing residential construction boom, which sped up the region's expansion and continues to do so today.
Sandy Ground, one of the oldest still-existing settlements in the United States that was established by free African Americans before the American Civil War, is located within Rossville. The first known African American land transaction in the region dates to 1828. A church, a cemetery, three dwellings, and five other historic buildings from the neighborhood still stand today; they have all been named New York City landmarks. Some people still reside in the old neighborhood. Following the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827, freedmen relocated to the region known as Sandy Ground, which was situated at what is now the crossroads of Bloomingdale and Woodrow Roads in Rossville. These early residents of Staten Island carried their expertise in the oyster trade with them. Prince's Bay, which is close to the neighborhood of Sandy Ground, served as the primary hub for oyster harvesting on the island. Sandy Ground, the first continually established free black town in the country, also played a significant role as a halt on the Underground Railroad. Oyster aquaculture was abandoned in 1916 as a result of port water pollution.
The worst of three disastrous brush fires that struck Staten Island occurred in Rossville on April 20, 1963; the three flames combined to burn more than 100 homes, evict more than 500 people, and damage more than $2 million worth of property. Although there are still some traces of the ancient Sandy Ground community, the fire destroyed the majority of the original homes. The fire changed Rossville's personality irrevocably. 19 months after its opening, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge witnessed a wave of enormous new house development in this and many other Staten Island areas. Many of the Rossville homes that had survived the fire were destroyed to make place for brand-new, frequently bigger ones.
The neighborhood is served by S74 and S84 along Bloomingdale Road and Rossville Avenue. As well as, S55 & SIM26 along Bloomingdale Road. And SIM 25 serves Rossville Avenue.
As you may see, Staten Island exudes so much history that is still honored throughout our neighborhoods. Rossville is home to many people from Staten Island. The neighborhood is covered in every corner with many food spots, transportation, parks and schools. This neighborhood is worth learning more about and living.
Looking to buy or sell your home on Staten Island? For all your real estate needs, look no further than Tom Crimmins Realty! Give us a call at (718) 370-3200, and we can provide you with professionally-trained agents who are flexible to all that you’re looking for!
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