Conference House Park
Encyclopedia
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, one of the borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
s of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The park is named after the historic Conference House
Conference House
The Conference House was built before 1680 and is located near the southernmost tip of New York State on Staten Island, which became known as "Billop's Point" in the 18th century. The Staten Island Peace Conference was held here on September 11, 1776, which unsuccessfully attempted to end the...
a c.1680 stone manor house in which a peace conference
Staten Island Peace Conference
The Staten Island Peace Conference was a brief meeting held in the hope of bringing an end to the American Revolution. The conference took place on September 11, 1776, at Billop Manor, the residence of Colonel Christopher Billop, on Staten Island, New York...
was initiated on September 11, 1776 by Lord Howe representing the British Crown with representatives of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
including Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, in an effort to halt the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. The area of the park was once part of Bentley Manor owned by the Billop
Christopher Billop
Christopher Billopp was a British loyalist during the American Revolution who commanded a Tory detachment during the war, earning him the sobriquet, "Tory Colonel". After the American Revolution he emigrated to New Brunswick, Canada along with other United Empire Loyalists and became a politician...
family. The Henry Hogg Biddle house constructed between 1845 and 1853 is another historic structure in the park.
The park is located along the coast along the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...
where it opens into Raritan Bay
Raritan Bay
Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on the south by the Raritan...
. The park contains clay bluffs, part of the terminal moraine
Terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a moraine that forms at the end of the glacier called the snout.Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. An end moraine is at the present boundary of the glacier....
, formed when the Wisconsin Glacier receded 10,000 years ago.
A Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
indian campsite and burial ground known Burial Ridge
Burial Ridge
Burial Ridge is a Lenape burial ground located on a bluff overlooking Raritan Bay in what is today the Tottenville section of Staten Island. The burial ground, the largest pre-European burial ground in New York City is unmarked and lies today within Conference House Park.Evidence of prior Native...
, are located within the boundaries of the park set back from the clay bluffs. In the late eighteenth century George H. Pepper of The American Museum of Natural History conducted archaeological digs on the site, unearthing the remains of Lenape buried there. There are still shell middens visible along the shore line that become exposed due to erosion. The Lenape graveyard was looted for many years prior to the park's extensive overhall, by area inhabitants and others seeking to recover the grave goods buried with the bodies.
It also houses a pavilion on the west beach with a characteristic turquoise roof, paths for walking and biking, and the Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
playground (named for the area's original Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
inhabitants), which is frequented by residents of the Tottenville
Tottenville, Staten Island
Tottenville with an area of approx. , is the southernmost neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City and New York State. Originally named Bentley Manor by one of its first settlers, Captain Christopher Billop , after a small ship he owned named the Bentley, the district was renamed Tottenville in...
and Tottenville Beach
Tottenville Beach, Staten Island
Tottenville Beach is a name sometimes used to denote the southeastern part of Tottenville, the southernmost neighborhood of Staten Island, in the city of New York City....
neighborhoods.
The park is the southernmost point in New York State
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, located at the southern terminus of Hylan Boulevard
Hylan Boulevard
Hylan Boulevard is a major northeast-southwest boulevard in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is approximately long , and runs from the North Shore neighborhood of Rosebank to the South Shore neighborhood of Tottenville....
. Many community events are held there every year, including a locally popular fireworks show every 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
. From 2002-2004 the park was renovated and upgraded, during which the aforementioned pavilion, paths, and playground were constructed, as well as a new visitors' center and visitor parking. The park has also been referred to as Swinnerton Park, usually with respect to the Lenape playground, which is located at the end of Swinnerton Street. The footpaths offer views of waterside New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
towns across Raritan Bay, while the pavilion overlooks the Arthur Kill and Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...
.
The park is slated for another set of improvements during 2008-2009, including the restoration of the Biddle House, new educational exhibits, and a second playground, one of five which are planned for Staten Island as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
's PlaNYC
PlaNYC
PlaNYC is an effort released by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2007 to prepare the city for one million more residents, strengthen the economy, combat climate change, and enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers. The Plan brought together over 25 City agencies to work toward the...
initiative.