Step back in time to Staten Island’s revolutionary past! Living Historians will be on-hand throughout the village to demonstrate military drills, weapons, and historic skills. Hear stories about soldiers and civilians, and learn about what life was like during the American Revolution in New York. Demonstrations of hearth cooking and blacksmithing will also be featured, and select buildings from the colonial period will be open for exploration. Special guests will also be in attendance, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
The events of the day will also feature a commemorative tribute to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Ticketing
General Admission: $15
Day-of Tickets will also be available for sale at the 3rd County Courthouse at Historic Richmond Town.
COVID-19
Mask-wearing will not be required outdoors. When inside a historic structure on the property, mask wearing is required.
Cheyney McKnight, of Not Your Momma’s History, will present an interpretation of an enslaved cook at the Guyon-Lake-Tysen House.
The year is 1776.
Months have passed since the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, and the British have occupied Staten Island as a staging area for the invasions of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Though Staten Island has a population that is largely Loyalist and sympathetic to British rule, a growing group on the Island are energized for the cause of independence in the colonies.
David Emerson will present an impression of Dr. Benjamin Franklin.
From farm to farm, and neighbor to neighbor, divisions run deep in Staten Island. Spy networks gather intelligence on the movements of either side, and the local Committees of Safety convene in the homes of Staten Island patriots to relay information to the government in Philadelphia. Around the village of Richmond, British soldiers occupy homes and properties, and build a small earthen fort on a nearby hill, North of the Church of St. Andrew.