VIDEOS
The Galway Shawl
Folk songs provide a window into the past, and bring history to life. At Historic Richmond Town, singing can often be heard echoing through the village. In this Arts & Culture In Quarantine video, Historical Interpreter Christopher Browne performs “The Galway Shawl”, an Irish folk song about a courtship between a lovestruck man and a damsel wrapped in a shawl.
Attic Tours: The Vorleezer’s House
Join Executive Director & CEO Jessica Phillips as she takes you on Historic Richmond Town’s final attic tour in our Arts & Culture in Quarantine series: the Vorleezers House. But have hope, all you history buffs! The age of COVID-19 virtual tours may be coming to an end and we hope to welcome you back on site SOON!
Virtual Story Time: “Charlie Needs a Cloak”
Kids & Families: do you have a few minutes for a quick #virtualstorytime?
In this video, Historic Richmond Town’s Director of Education & Public Programs Luke Boyd reads ‘Charlie Needs a Cloak’, Tomie dePaola’s beloved children’s book about a shepherd, his flock, and his homespun red cloak.
A popular workshop program for elementary school students is inspired by this story. Activities and demonstrations allow students to participate step by step in the discovery of how a sheep's haircut is turned into a warm and beautiful garment.
Have you taken a field trip to HRT in the past? Do you remember this program? We would love to hear from you!
Attic Tours: The Stephens-Prier House
Our attic tours are back for today's Arts and Culture in Quarantine! Next up: a behind the scenes look at the Stephens-Prier House!
The Stephens-Prier House stands on its original site between Richmond Road and Center Street at the corner of St. Patrick's Place. It is a two and one-half story wood frame house built ca. 1857-1859. It is symmetrically designed, incorporating classical pediments on all four sides with identical facades on Center Street and Richmond Road. The architecture shows features of both Greek Revival and Italianate styles. The house was built for Daniel Lake Stephens (1810-1866).
Stephens was born in Manhattan, moved with his family to Brooklyn in the 1820s, and in 1854 he and his sister Ann Eliza moved to Staten Island to live with their cousin Stephen D. Stephens in his home in Richmond (the Stephens-Black House).
Attic Tours: The Guyon Tavern
The attic adventures continue at Historic Richmond Town! This installment of #ArtsandCultureinQuarantine takes us inside the Guyon Tavern.
Historic Richmond Town is starting 2020 with a big win! The nearly 200 year old historic Guyon Tavern building, which was damaged by a car accident in 2017, has been recently restored and is open to the public! It is thanks to the tireless efforts of our community, staff and supporters that programs such as The Tavern Terrace Series, the Guyon Tavern Benefit Concert and more have successfully raised the necessary funds to restore the building to its former glory.
Interpreter Reflections: The African American Focus Tour
Historic Richmond Town offers a variety of educational and public programming throughout the year. The African American Focus Tour explores the lives of African Americans on Staten Island. This program is offered to visiting students as a workshop. By examining primary documents, historic structures, and exhibits, students learn more about this important history.
In this #ArtsAndCultureInQuarantine video, Historical Interpreter and DEIA Intern Dominique Jarrod Hood discusses the complexity of researching and presenting the history of slavery on Staten Island. This work requires sensitivity and diligence, understanding the historical evidence (or lack thereof) and the different perspectives participants bring to their visit. Acknowledging multiple points of view is essential to the success of these programs, as staff facilitate conversations that seek to engage and provoke deeper understanding with this history.
Attic Tours: The Third County Courthouse
CEO & Executive Director Jessica Phillips takes us on another attic adventure on the grounds of Historic Richmond Town! What treasures will she find in the Third County Courthouse?
The Third County Courthouse is located on Center Street at the head of Court Place. It was built in 1837 on this site, replacing earlier courthouse buildings that had been located on other sites nearby.
Standing on one of the highest points in Richmond, this imposing Greek Revival building was designed to both reflect and inspire civic power and pride. The front (north) wall of the structure is built of rough-faced Staten Island trap rock; the other walls are brick.
19th Century Hair Tutorial
Low and wide hairstyles were the height of fashion for women in the mid-part of the 19th century. Treated with hair pomades and secured with v-shaped hair pins, this style was a common one for women of all socio-economic classes in about 1860, right around the start of the American Civil War.
ATTIC Tours: The Tin Smith
What's upstairs in the tin smith? Come along with Executive Director and CEO, Jessica Phillips to find out!
The Colon Store, also known as the Tinsmith’s Shop, is on the north side of Center Street between St. Patrick’s Place and Court Place. Built ca. 1840-1850, the store originally stood on Woodrow Road in Woodrow. Around 1913 it was relocated to Bloomingdale Road in Pleasant Plains. It was moved to Historic Richmond Town in 1969.
Attic Tours: The Christopher House
This time, CEO and Executive Director, Jessica Phillips, adventures into her favorite house at HRT, the Christopher House. The Christopher House is set back from the west side of Arthur Kill Road near Richmond Creek. It is a one and one-half story stone farmhouse in a simple vernacular style with Dutch influences such as a spring eave and jambless fireplaces. The Christopher House's primary claim to fame is that it was reputedly the meeting place for the local Committee of Safety during the American Revolution.
Attic Tours: The Carpenter’s Shop
Executive Director and CEO Jessica Phillips takes us on another attic tour adventure into the carpenter shop in our historic village!
The Carpenter's Shop on the east side of Court Place is a reconstruction built primarily with historic building materials. The framing for the building is from the ca. 1830 kitchen wing of the Samuel Decker house. Since the wing did not have an end wall where it had originally joined the main house, new posts made of old timbers were added, and it was sided with shingles from the ca. 1790 Eith house on Richmond Avenue. A variety of other historic and new materials were used to complete the reconstruction; the historic materials were salvaged from old Staten Island buildings that had been demolished.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility - During and After COVID-19
Dominique Hood describes his work as Diversity & Inclusion Intern at Historic Richmond Town and how it’s been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In conversation with Diversity Coordinator Sarah Clark, the two discuss the organization’s mission and its plans to continue expanding the audience for arts and culture during and after the 2020 crisis.
Attic Tours: The Boehm House
Tag along with Executive Director and CEO Jessica Phillips for another exclusive HRT attic tour!
The Boehm House is typical of Staten Island farmhouses of the 18th and 19th centuries. It shows Dutch influence in the older (southern) portion of the house. It was originally located in Greenridge, on the west side of Arthur Kill Road near the intersection with Giffords Lane. Moved to Historic Richmond Town in 1965, it is now on the west side of Arthur Kill Road between Richmond Road and Center Street.
Object Highlight: Autograph Quilt
What stories can an object tell us about the community that made it? In this object highlight video, Curatorial Assistant Carli DeFillo invites you to explore how an unfinished quilt project lets us glimpse the community relationships and cooperation of families and neighbors in Rossville almost 170 years ago. Get inspired to make a project in your own community, and join us in creating a virtual autograph quilt for 2020!
Listen at the end of the video for instructions on how to make your own quilt while in quarantine and download the template here! Then, share a picture of your complete quilt on social media using #MyAutographQuilt!
If you'd like to learn more about Alice Austen's life and photography, listen to Dr. Yochelson's recent Gotham Center podcast about the Alice Austen House.
Dr. Bonnie Yochelson on New Alice Austen Book
Historic Richmond Town is excited to be partnering with art historian Dr. Bonnie Yochelson on a new book about photographer Alice Austen (1866-1952), a lifelong Staten Island resident. Alice Austen was a talented and prolific photographer whose carefully composed images capture decades of life not only in her native Staten Island but on her extensive travels, including several trips through Europe. The Alice Austen Photograph Collection, with more than 7,500 original prints and negatives, is one of Historic Richmond Town’s most significant and best-known holdings.
Dr. Yochelson is the author or co-author of several books about other notable photographers, including Jacob Riis, Esther Bubley, Alfred Stieglitz, Berenice Abbott, and Karl Struss. She was recently awarded a fellowship for the Austen project by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation at The Gotham Center for New York City History.
Census Day 2020
with Director of Education & Public Programs, Luke Boyd
April 1 is #CensusDay2020. Every ten years, the federal government conducts the census to count every person living in the United States of America. Data collected from the census determines the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives. It also guides how more than $675 billion in federal monies are spent on roads, schools, and hospitals.
The census is critical to Historic Richmond Town’s mission to preserve Staten Island History. Historical census records provide information about the people and families who lived and worked in the village buildings. This data enlivens the stories we tell about Staten Island with detail. Completing the census today will contribute to the historical record of tomorrow.
Responding to the 2020 Census is quick and easy. Instructions on how to respond online have been mailed. Any personal information you provide is sealed and protected by law.
Let’s make sure that everyone is counted in the #2020Census!
Attic Tours: Edwards-Barton House
Historic Richmond Town is home to 40 historic structures, each with a unique story to tell. Join Executive Director and CEO Jessica Baldwin Phillips as she takes us on never-before-seen attic tours of some of the buildings on site to see what kinds of secrets there are waiting to be uncovered! Today's stop: The Edwards-Barton House.
Collection Highlight - Wooden HAnd planes
Historic Richmond Town’s wide-ranging collection is home to hundreds of woodworking tools, including over 400 hand planes.These tools range from 3 inches to 3 feet long, and were used for everything from tuning musical instruments to making furniture to building ships and houses, including the ones that stand on our site today.
In this video, Historic Richmond Town’s woodworking expert Don DeFillo introduces wooden hand planes and demonstrates how they are used to shape, join, and decorate wood.