Christopher House CLIENT: Thomas Dongan ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: 1756 STYLE: Vernacular The Christopher House is a vernacular stone farmhouse whose oldest sections date from about 1720. It is part of the Richmondtown Restoration effort to restore and celebrate the local heritage of Staten Island.

County Clerk's and Surrogate's Office CLIENT: Richmond County ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: 1848 STYLE: Italianate The Historical Museum, formerly the Richmond County Clerk’s and Surrogate’s Office, is a charmingly scaled, red-bring building in a simplified Italianate Style built in 1849. It is part of the Richmondtown Restoration effort to restore and celebrate the local heritage of Staten Island.

Stephens-Black House CLIENT: Stephens D. Stephens ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: 1837 The Stephens-Black House of about 1838-1840 has a fascinating reconstruction of a nineteenth-century general store attached. It is part of the Richmondtown Restoration effort to restore and celebrate the local heritage of Staten Island.

Public School 28, April 26, 1928. The land on which the original Public School 28 sat (at Richmond Hill Road and Old Mill Road) was part of Staten Island's second oldest settlement, the Waldensian community. The land once housed the island's first court house, jail, church, and whipping post (those accused of witchcraft were said to have been punished there). Following the consolidation of the Greater New York City and the population boom that followed, the old school house was overcrowded and deteriorating. A new structure was planned on a nearby empty lot. The new Public School 28 was completed in 1908 and still stands at Center Street at the corner of St. Patrick's Place (where it is a part of the Historic Richmondtown cultural complex). It is unknown when this original school was demolished.

Old Richmond County Court House ca. 1954 A fine and simple example of the Greek School Revival Court House found in many American towns. Doric Order, four-column portico and pediment, surmounted by a cupola with a bell. This Court is part of the Richmondtown Restoration and is administered by the Staten Historical Society. In its time, from 1837 to its abandonment in 1920, the Court was the scene of many famous cases. Particularly of note is the Polly Bodine trial of 1844, one of the famous national cases establishing statutory law.

St. Andrew Protestant Episcopal Church ARCHITECT: William H. Mesereau DATE: 1872 STYLE: English Norman, Church Set in a rolling, verdant churchyard, the Church of St. Andrew is reminiscent of a twelfth-century English Norman parish church. The church was established in 1705 by the Reverend Aeneas MacKenzie; its charter was granted by Queen Anne in 1713. The original stone church with gambrel roof was built in 1709-12; over the next century and a half, it was damaged by fires and rebuilt several times, in 1734, 1770, 1807-10, and 1867. Finally in 1872, William H. Mesereau constructed the present building using the original stone walls.

Voorlezer's House CLIENT: Reformed Dutch Church ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: Mid-1700s STYLE: Clapboard The Voorzeler’s House is a two-story, clapboard-sheathed building erected in the mid-1700s as a school, church, and home for the lay minister and teacher; it is this country’s oldest surviving elementary school, and its restoration in 1939 initiated Richmondtown Restoration, the effort to restore and celebrate the local heritage of Staten Island.

Church of St. Andrew ca. 1954 The present church is a pleasing example of the modified use of Gothic and Romanesque features in stone and brick. Its setting is magnificent, overlooking the Fresh Kills, as did its predecessor (destroyed in 1867.) The churchyard and church contain many interesting gravestones and monuments, the earliest is 1742. St. Andrew's was originally completed in 1712 and combined successfully a Dutch type gambrel roof with a Wren Type steeple. The building was destroyed by fire in 1867 and the new building while using much of the original walls, is of an entirely different style. The church and cemetery lie within the Richmondtown Restoration and will always maintain their rural setting.

"House of Buried Treasure," 1939. The earliest part of this house was built circa 1700 by Samuel Grasset, a local tanner. Over the next century, the structure served as a residence, commercial space (shoemaker's shop), and civic facility (an extension was added circa 1790 to serve as a courtroom). In the last two centuries, the building has also served as an inn, real estate office, hardware store, post office, antique store, and home to many. A supposed discovery of a cache of gold coins both in 1860 and again in 1921 resulted in the moniker the "House of Buried Treasure," but neither of these discoveries was documented, and the stories are considered oral tradition/local lore at best. The structure was acquired by the Staten Island Historical Society in 1951 and designated at NYC landmark in 1969. As per the Historic Richmondtown website: "The building is awaiting restoration and is not open to the public."

Treasure House CLIENT: Samuel Grasset ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: 1700 STYLE: Clapboard The Treasure House is a modest clapboard structure built about 1700, with additions between about 1740 and 1860; a $7,000 cache of British coins was discovered within its walls about 1860–hence the name. It is part of the Richmondtown Restoration effort to restore and celebrate the local heritage of Staten Island.

To celebrate the New Year, Urban Archive is looking at an eclectic mix of some of the oldest parts of our city.

Guyon Lake Tysen House, ca. 1975. Originally located on Tysen's Lane between Mill Road and Hylan Boulevard in the Oakwood section of Staten Island, the Lake-Tysen House was moved to Historic Richmond Town in 1962. The gambrel-roof home (meaning it has a symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side) was constructed circa 1740 by Joseph Guyon, a farmer of Huguenot descent. Over the next two centuries the farm house had additions and alterations as it changed hands through bequests and sales. It was home to the Guyon, Lake, and Tysen families. In 1962 the home was given to the historical society by the final Tysen family owners.

Third County Courthouse ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: 1837 STYLE: Greek Revival The Third County Courthouse of 1837 is an imposing Greek Revival structured with pedimented portico and square cupola erected of local stone and wood. It is part of the Richmondtown Restoration effort to restore and celebrate the local heritage of Staten Island.