The Watering Place Stories Before the Revenue Service

This second talk of the series explores the early history of Staten Island’s northeastern shoreline, long before lighthouses and federal patrols shaped the harbor. From early European encounters and Dutch settlement efforts to the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, we will trace how the Watering Place evolved from a source of fresh water and a quiet farmstead into a strategic military staging ground. Through vivid local episodes—including violent struggles with the indigenous people, an unusual knighting ceremony, and the arrival of a massive British fleet—the talk reveals how this overlooked shoreline played a pivotal role in New York Harbor’s colonial and revolutionary past, linking these early stories to Staten Island’s later maritime and public health history.