Historic Richmond Town

Historic Richmond Town is a special place in the neighborhood of Richmondtown on Staten Island, which is part of New York City. It is managed by the Staten Island Historical Society. Visitors can explore old farms, homes, and shops that show what life was like a long time ago.

One part of the town is called Decker Farm, where families can enjoy activities like picking pumpkins during the fall. The main area of Historic Richmond Town includes many important buildings.

Long ago, in the early 1700s, this place was called Richmond Town because it was an important center for the area. Many of the people living there had Dutch, English, or French backgrounds. During the American Revolution, British soldiers stayed in Richmond Town.

History

The museum at Historic Richmond Town was created by people from Staten Island, including local historians and a banker named David L. Decker. They wanted to save pieces of Staten Island's history during a time of big changes, just like how other places such as Colonial Williamsburg were preserved.

Historic Richmond Town started in 1958. It is a project supported by the Staten Island Historical Society and the City of New York, which helps take care of the buildings and provides some money to keep the museum running.

Current setting

The main campus of Historic Richmond Town is 25 acres with 15 restored buildings. Visitors can see what life was like in a community that is more than 300 years old. There are two churches nearby: St. Andrew's Episcopal and St. Patrick's Church. Another church, the Reformed Dutch Church of Richmond, was torn down. Next to the site is Mount Richmond Cemetery, run by the Hebrew Free Burial Association.

Exhibits

Visitors to Historic Richmond Town can see what life was like in the 19th century. They can take tours of old homes and shops with furniture and items from that time. Some buildings are still being fixed and are not open to visitors yet.

The museum has special events like Old Home Day, the Richmond County Fair, Oktoberfest, and festivals with music and dancing. School groups can learn old trades like tinsmithing and blacksmithing. Notable buildings include the Voorlezer's House, the Guyon-Lake-Tysen House, and The Christopher House, which has a special old-style fireplace.

In popular culture

Historic Richmond Town appeared in a documentary called A Walk Around Staten Island with David Hartman and Barry Lewis. The documentary showed Staten Island’s history and culture. It first aired on December 3, 2007, on PBS at WNET.

The town was part of the third season of the TV series Boardwalk Empire. For this show, a 1920s-style diner and gas station were built and used for filming. This season aired in the fall of 2012 on HBO.

Historic Richmond Town was shown in an episode of the PBS series History Detectives. The episode looked into a special flag in the museum that might have been from the 1860s. The show included scenes acted out in the Stephens-Black House.

The town was also a location in an episode of the paranormal TV show Most Terrifying Place, which aired on the Travel Channel in 2019.

Access

Historic Richmond Town is easy to reach by bus. You can take the S74 or S54 buses to visit and explore its history.