Conference House (Staten Island)

Conference House (Staten Island) is a late 17th- to early 18th-century stone house located in the Tottenville neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. The house, historically associated with the Billop family, served as the site of a high-level peace meeting during the American Revolutionary War and survives as one of the oldest extant structures in New York State. The site connects to a wide array of New York City colonial, Revolutionary, and preservation histories involving notable figures and institutions.

History

The land on which the house stands was part of early Dutch and English colonial settlement patterns involving families who interacted with the administrations of New Netherland and later Province of New York. Construction phases reflect building campaigns spanning the eras of Peter Stuyvesant and later English colonial governors such as Lord Cornbury and William Burnet. The Billop family, including patriarchs connected to British Empire mercantile networks and transatlantic landholding practices, occupied the house through the 18th century; their story intersects with conflicts involving New Jersey and Pennsylvania proprietors and the evolving jurisdiction of Richmond County, New York. Ownership and occupancy records reveal interactions with figures tied to the shipping registers and customs offices of Port of New York and family members who appear in correspondence with agents in London and the colonial assemblies in New York (state).

Architecture and Grounds

The dwelling exemplifies regional variants of Dutch Colonial architecture adapted to the mid-Atlantic context and local vernacular masonry traditions seen in other historic houses such as Morris-Jumel Mansion and Old Stone House (Brooklyn). The structure incorporates fieldstone walls, gambrel roof lines in later modifications, and interior plan elements comparable to contemporaneous houses associated with the Delancey family and Van Cortlandt family. The grounds include surviving outbuildings, landscape features, and proximity to Arthur Kill and Raritan Bay, situating the house within maritime and estuarine trade routes that linked to Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes and ferry crossings to New Jersey. Archaeological surveys have yielded artifacts comparable to assemblages from Fort Stanwix, Kingsland Manor, and other colonial-era sites, helping to document patterns of consumption, exchange, and material culture among Anglo-Dutch elites.

Role in the American Revolution

On September 11, 1776, the house hosted a wartime diplomatic meeting involving representatives of King George III's loyalist authorities and delegates appointed by the Continental Congress as part of ceasefire and negotiation efforts following the Battle of Long Island. The conference included figures whose names appear in correspondence with commanders such as George Washington and naval officers active in the New York and New Jersey campaign. The parley’s participants, drawn from Loyalist administrations and colonial magistrates, sought terms that touched on prisoner exchange, property claims, and civilian protections amid contested control of New York City and surrounding waterborne approaches defended by British naval units including squadrons from Royal Navy. Though the meeting did not produce a lasting treaty comparable to the later Treaty of Paris (1783), it remains emblematic of Revolutionary-era diplomacy alongside other negotiation attempts like those at Valley Forge and during events involving emissaries linked to Benjamin Franklin or John Adams.

Ownership and Preservation

Following the Revolution, the property passed through multiple private owners, with ties to families documented in county deeds and probate records involving Richmond County (New York) officials and local merchants active in the Port of New York. In the 19th and 20th centuries preservation advocates and historical societies, including agents analogous to the New-York Historical Society and later municipal preservation programs in New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, worked to stabilize the structure. The site was acquired by public bodies and nonprofit organizations connected to the Staten Island Museum and municipal park systems; its listing on registers akin to the National Register of Historic Places and designation as a landmark reflect broader preservation movements that also protected sites like Fraunces Tavern and Hamilton Grange National Memorial.

Cultural Impact and Public Access

As a museum site, the house functions as a focal point for interpretive programs addressing colonial New York, Loyalist histories, and the material culture of Atlantic families, comparable to programming at Historic Richmond Town and other heritage institutions. The property hosts reenactments, educational workshops tied to curricula in New York City Department of Education schools, and exhibitions coordinated with organizations such as the New York Historical Society and local veterans groups. Public access is managed through tours, events, and collaborative initiatives with municipal parks and cultural agencies including the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and regional heritage networks that promote visitation to sites across Staten Island Ferry routes and metropolitan heritage trails. The site’s image and narratives have appeared in publications and media exploring early American diplomacy, Loyalist families, and colonial architecture, contributing to scholarly and public understanding of the mid-Atlantic colonial landscape.

Category:Houses in Staten Island Category:Historic house museums in New York City