Newly installed in a space in the Biddle House on the grounds of Conference House Park, the Tottenville Historical Society will once again be a more visible presence in the community.  (For a period of years the Society had been located at 229 Main Street, in a small building that once housed a barbershop across from the Post Office.) 
 
Located in the new office space are the Society’s research materials, including its library, photographs, historic maps, newspapers, and its genealogy and subject files collections. 
 
“We are very excited for the opportunity to present programs and exhibitions to a wider audience,” says Linda Cutler Hauck, Founder and President of the Society.  “We are eager to share our knowledge of the community’s rich history and heritage and engage them in conversation about it.”  To schedule a research appointment, contact the Society at 718.887.9125.

Upcoming Tottenville Historical Society Events

To celebrate its move, the society has announced a series of lectures about Staten Island history, led by Staten Island Historian Pat Salmon to be held at the Biddle House.  These lectures are sponsored by the Society. Admission is $7 and proceeds will benefit the Society.

 Tottenville's Terra Cotta Legacy (past event)

Walking tour (free)

On Sunday May 6 Tottenville Historical Society President Linda Cutler Hauck led a tour of the site of the former Atlantic Terra Cotta Co. (1898-1930s), as part of the Municipal Art Society's Jane's Walk weekend. The company was once the world's largest manufacturer of architectural terra cotta. Attendees were treated to the story of how the immigrant artisans of Atlantic Terra Cotta revolutionized the building industry in the early 20th century.  They passed several surviving buildings along the waterfront where fractured remnants of terra cotta remain today.  The tour ended with a visit to the newly-opened outdoor Terra Cotta Sculpture Garden at the historic Biddle House, 70 Satterlee St.

The Secret Cemetaries of Staten Island

Lecture/discussion

Date: Saturday, May 12, 2:30 pm. Included will be the cemeteries located at Mt. Loretto and the Lenape burial ground known as Burial Ridge at Conference House Park, now on the National Register of Historic Places, where the remains of 80 Native Americans have been found. 

More Murder and Mayhem on Staten Island

Lecture/discussion

Date: Sunday, June 3, 2:30pm. Following up on Salmon’s book Murder and Mayhem on Staten Island, Salmon will discuss murders, solved and unsolved, that took place on Staten Island from the 1840s into the 20th century, including those of a notorious serial killer who lived in Charleston, a town neighboring Tottenville.