Hi Neighbor,

Nostalgia . . . its a big thing in our community.

We love everything old about Staten Island. The historic Advance pages published in the print edition of the Staten Island Advance and its online eNewspaper every day. An advertisement for a womens leather jacket on sale at E.J. Korvettes for $29.99. A 1951 Dodge at Memoly Motors for fourteen hundred bucks. The times when Kolff and Kaufmann Realtors sold a brick ranch in Great Kills for $19,900.

So why dont we embrace the real history of Staten Island? The brick-wood-and-mortar history, and everything that it stands for, still with us after 350-plus years.

The headline said it all on reporter Maura Grunlunds story telling of a disturbing situation in Eltingville last week:

History under attack:

300-year-old-house vandalized with racial slurs, obscene images

Its the Olmsted-Beil House. Ill go out on a limb and suggest that most of our neighbors never heard of the place.

As Maura described it, the home is located at 4515 Hylan Blvd., nestled behind other development and reached from a blink-and-youll-miss-it entrance between Hales Avenue and Woods of Arden Road.

The two-story farmhouse sits on a 1.7-acre site that was once a 130-acre farm.

The vandals also broke windows. Not just any windows, but glass that could date back to when the home was built.

This isnt just any 300-year-old house, mind you, although its age alone should give it significant status in our borough.

Frederick Law Olmsted, a renowned landscape architect instrumental in the development of Central Park and Prospect Park, and Carlton Beil, a naturalist and educator at the American Museum of Natural History, lived there at one time or another.

Two pretty big deals in the history of New York City.

Tina Kaasmann-Dunn and her Friends of the Olmsted-Beil House have worked hard to stabilize the place. Theyre incensed over the vandalism.

But where is the larger community outrage?

Friends of Olmsted-Biel shouldnt feel alone.

Theres a community within a community in Rossville called Sandy Ground.

Given that a ferryboat was just named after the place might make the name better known to Staten Island commuters. But Ill go out on that limb again and suggest that most neighbors dont know what Sandy Ground is even if they do ride the boat every morning.

Sandy Ground was settled in 1833 by African-American oystermen fleeing restrictive industry laws of Maryland. The Raritan Bay was rich in oysters in those days.

Sandy Ground became the first free Black community in New York

Eventually, the oyster beds were depleted and Sandy Grounders turned to other professions like iron works and blacksmithing or left.

Joseph Bishop displays one fo the floral patterns he has produced from a cast. A piece like this may require a full day of work. August, 1973 at Sandy Ground.

Then a fire tore through the community in the 1960s, destroying many of the homes. But some do remain.

The only intact 18th-century African cemetery in America is said to be on the site, and its museum has the largest documentary collection of African-American culture and history on Staten Island . . . as well as letters, photographs, film, art, rare books, quilts and other archaeological artifacts, according to NYC-Arts.

The AME Zion Church, built around 1850 and a junction on the Underground Railroad, still stands and still holds services today. Sandy Ground descendants still live on Staten Island.

The Sandy Ground Historical Society headed by Julie Moody Lewis and her mom, Sylvia DAllesandro Sandy Ground descendants themselves struggles mightily but has been unable to keep up. The museum is closed because of water, mold and other damage.

Sandy Ground is not just a ferryboat named in its honor.

Sandy Ground not just a Staten Island story.

Its not just a New York story.

Sandy Ground is a national story. Think about it: The first free Black community in New York! And it still exists.

Where is our outrage over the potential loss of this piece of American history in our own hometown?

Youd think the little white house at 1476 Richmond Road in Dongan Hlls would be a no-brainer. It, too, has a name -- The Billliou-Stillwell-Perine House.

What makes it so special? Its the oldest surviving building on Staten Island, one of the oldest buildings in the entire state and still sits on the property where it was first built.

Im out on that limb again when I suggest that the tens of thousands of Richmond Road drivers who speed past the house every day to and from work have no clue of the homes history.

Exterior of the Perine House at 1476 Richmond Road. (Staten Island Advance)Staten Island Advance

It was built by 1663 by Pierre Billiou, a native of French Flanders. He found his way to Staten Island in 1661 with a bunch of other settlers and established Staten Islands first permanent Dutch settlement.

Historic Richmond Town, which owns the house, tells the extraordinary history.

Billiou and his family lived in the house when the English took control of Staten Island in 1664. During the American Revolution, when Ann Perine lived in the house with her seven children, British troops occupied the property For a few years in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Alice Austen and Gertrude Tate operated the Box Tree Tea Room in the house.

Today, the house is primarily notable for being the only remaining architectural evidence of the first permanent settlement on Staten Island

This is the interior of the final addition to the house, the kitchen built by the Perine family in the 19th century.STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

But like Olmsted and Sandy Ground, keeping up with a 359-year-old structure is a struggle. A small group of Staten Islanders got together well before the pandemic and raised enough money to replace the roof in period style.

A phased fund-raising plan to bring the house back to its 1600s glory was established but the pandemic put everything on hold.

Its about to kick-start again but the small group, Historic Richmond Towns Executive Director and CEO Jessica Phillips and her board of directors, shouldnt be the only ones who care.

Like Sandy Ground, this is a national treasure, neighbors. We all should care.

Like the old saying goes, They dont build em like that anymore . . . "

Brian

Oh by the way: Finally! Weve been saying it since a Staten Island Yankee pitcher threw the first strike in 1999. They, and now the Ferry Hawks, treat it like its baseball. Its not. Its impossible to be baseball on the minor league or independent level on Staten Island when a guy named Aaron Judge is breaking the American League home run record for a team based about 26 miles away. Finally, the Hawks will bring baseball entertainment to St. George. As Advance/SILive sports reporter Nick Regina related, The Savanah Bananas 2023 World Tour will hit 33 cities across 20 states next year . . . joined by characters, dancers, performers, mascots, and musicians as it exposes its brand of baseball, known as Banana Ball. . . a fast-paced, action-packed style of baseball that doesnt allow for walks or bunting. Hitters arent allowed to leave the batters box and all games end after two hours. Among the quirkiest of rules, if a fan catches a foul ball its an out. The games are Aug. 11 and 12. Tickets arent on sale yet but stay tuned. Lets be first on line!

Link:

We cant allow our history to vanish | From the editor - SILive.com