Surviving from the 1600s

Medieval-style roof: Circa 1679

image1

The original one-room wing of the landmark Billiou-Stillwell-Perine House -- at 1476 Richmond Road in Dongan Hills -- was built circa 1679 with rough-cut fieldstone in a style known as Dutch Construction. This wing features a "steep medieval type roof," the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission notes. 

Circa 1680: Stone manor house

image2

With a view of Raritan Bay, this fieldstone house was built by British naval officer Captain Christopher Billopp as the seat of his 1,600-acre estate, Bentley Manor.  Its stone masonry "is characteristic of the medieval influence in some of our early Colonial architecture," reports the Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

Voorlezer's House: Circa 1695

image3

This wood-frame landmark -- at 59 Arthur Kill Road in Historic Richmond Town -- was built in 1695 by local Dutch settlers. It served as a Dutch Reformed church and school, and housed the congregation's lay leader and teacher (Voorlezer, in Dutch), 

It is believed to be the oldest elementary school building in the United States.

Early Dutch Colonial farmhouse

image4

The two-story wing of this fieldstone farmhouse possibly dates back to the 1680s. Located at 2286 Richmond Road in New Dorp, it stands today as "a rare surviving example of a Dutch Colonial style house in New York City and is one of the oldest houses on Staten Island," according to the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.  The house, under private ownership,  does not enjoy protected landmark status. 

Waterfront Homestead

image5

The earliest section of the Manee-Seguine Homestead -- at 509 Seguine Avenue in Prince's Bay -- consists of one room with a cellar and attic, built in the late 1600s. The walls of the first floor and cellar are constructed of rubblestone about 24 inches thick. This historic homestead was designated an official NYC landmark in 1984, and is currently vacant and deteriorating under private ownership. (Photo courtesy of Nicholas Matrenga.)


Fieldstone Cottage: Circa 1670

image6

The center fieldstone section of the Cubberly-Britton Cottage dates to circa 1670. Additions were built circa 1700, and again circa 1750. Its original location was on the waterfront near the intersection of New Dorp Lane and Cedar Grove Avenue in New Dorp Beach. The house was moved to 3737 Richmond Road in Historic Richmond Town in 1967, saving it from demolition. The cottage  was designated an official NYC landmark in 1976.