Sandy Ground was founded in the early 1800s in Woodrow as the first community in America to be established by free blacks.
Now three of the dwellings that housed them and the church that anchored the settlement have become New York City landmarks. For Staten Island, it’s a historic step.
Timed to coincide with Black History Month, the unanimous decision by the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission to grant protective status to the four buildings at Sandy Ground was long overdue. The site was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
But most of Sandy Ground, where descendants of the original settlers still live, has been lost through the years to developers. That’s why preserving key pieces of what remains was vital to the heritage of all of us.
Landmark status was granted to Rossville AME Zion Church, 584 Bloomingdale Road; the Rev. Isaac and Rebecca (Gray) Coleman House at 1482 Woodrow Road, and the two cottages at 565 and 569 Bloomingdale Road.
As Rev. Janet Jones, pastor of the church, pointed out: “Landmarking these structures insures visible reminders that this community exists because, during the time when slavery was the law of the nation, free blacks dared to pursue the American dream of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ in the South Shore of Staten Island, New York.”
During an era of racial turmoil in early U.S. history, free black New Yorkers created a farming community at Sandy Ground.
They were joined thereafter by free black oystermen who came north from Virginia, Maryland and Delaware to work the shellfish beds of Raritan Bay. Their community became an important way station on the Underground Railroad, a network of safe havens used by slaves escaping from the South.
The African Zion Methodist Church, now Rossville AME Zion Church, was established in 1849 by its first minister, William H. Pitts, who initially led prayer services in his home. The original building was dedicated in 1854 on Crabtree Avenue. When the congregation outgrew that location, it moved to the present site. The adjoining cemetery officially became a landmark some time ago.
The newly landmarked Coleman House, which was built before 1859, is likely the oldest building surviving from the original Sandy Ground settlement. It was purchased by Rev. Coleman when he became pastor of the church in 1864.
The vernacular frame structure has been in the possession of his descendants ever since. Yvonne Taylor of Eltingville, a great-granddaughter of Mrs. Coleman, was among the supporters of granting landmark status to all four buildings.
The two “bayman’s cottages” that were landmarked last week were constructed between 1887 and 1898. They are typical of the small homes that were erected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to house workers in the rural areas of New York.
State Sen. Andrew Lanza, who represents the South Shore, had worked with the community for years to obtain landmark protection for Sandy Ground. His delight in the outcome was echoed by Sylvia D’Alessandro, executive director of the Sandy Ground Historical Society.
We salute the efforts of all who helped to preserve for future generations so important a part of history on Staten Island.