Sandy Ground
Arthur Kill, Staten Island Oyster Trade (1924) by Percy Loomis Sperr / Milstein Division of United States History, Local History, and Genealogy
Books & Clippings
Villages & Sections - Sandy Ground : clippings
Clipping and miscellaneous material about the Sandy Ground section of Staten Island, NY.
- Sandy Ground memories by
Introduction and additional essays by Barnett Shepherd. Includes family stories by other Sandy Grounders
The Encyclopedia of New York City by
A newly updated, expanded edition of the most comprehensive one-volume reference work on New York City ever compiled Covering an exhaustive range of information about Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, the first edition of The Encyclopedia of New York City was a success by every measure, earning worldwide acclaim and several awards for reference excellence, and selling out its first printing before it was officially published. But much has changed since the volume first appeared in 1995: the World Trade Center no longer dominates the skyline, a billionaire businessman became an unlikely three-term mayor, and urban regeneration--Chelsea Piers, the High Line, DUMBO, Williamsburg, the South Bronx, the Lower East Side--has become commonplace. To reflect such innovation and change, this definitive, one-volume resource on the city has been completely revised and expanded. The revised edition includes 800 new entries that help complete the story of New York: from Air Train to E-ZPass, from September 11 to public order. The new material includes broader coverage of subject areas previously underserved as well as new maps and illustrations. Virtually all existing entries--spanning architecture, politics, business, sports, the arts, and more--have been updated to reflect the impact of the past two decades. The more than 5,000 alphabetical entries and 700 illustrations of the second edition of The Encyclopedia of New York Cityconvey the richness and diversity of its subject in great breadth and detail, and will continue to serve as an indispensable tool for everyone who has even a passing interest in the American metropolis.
- Sandy Ground: archaeological sampling in a Black Community in Metropolitan New York by
Sandy Ground: archaeological sampling in a Black Community in Metropolitan New York,
Introduction
“Neighborhood in south-western Staten Island, centered at Bloomingdale Road between Rossville and Charleston. Settled in the 1830’s...it was known as Harrisville and then as Little Africa before being given its current name because of the poor quality of its soil...The early settlers included a few local families along with oystermen from New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland, who were attracted by the rich oyster beds in the area and by business opportunities not available in the South. The area was served by the Underground Railroad, and the Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church (1850) at Bloomingdale and Woodrow roads became a community center...A fire in 1964 destroyed many dwellings.
[Today] new housing developments stand by the church...most blacks moved as real estate prices rose, but return to attend church services and to affirm their historical connections. [There is] a small museum run by the Sandy Ground Historical Society, which was formed in 1979… The neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological site in 1982.”
Encyclopedia of New York / Kenneth Jackson
Maps
Map of Staten Island, Richmond Co. / H.F. Walling (1859)
Digital Collections Image
Note - names of property owners William H. Pitts pastor A.M.E. Zion Church; A.M.E. Zion Church members M. Purnell, E. Bishop, and J. Bishop near main east/west road in the village of Woodrow, Westfield Town; “Meth. Church Cemetery” (A.M.E. Zion Church Cemetery) at the corner of Church and Amboy Rd in Tottenville inset map
Atlas of Staten Island, Richmond Co. / F. W. Beers (1874) Sec. 31
Digital Collections Image
Note - “Cemetery M. E. Church” [A.M.E. Zion] at the corner of Church and Amboy Rd
Map of Staten Island...with ye old names & nicknames / Charles Leng (1896)
Note - Toponym “Africa”, “Little Africa” , and “Sandy Ground” by Harrisville
Atlas of the borough of Richmond, NYC / Robinson (1898) pl. 24 & 25
Note - Zion A.M.E. Church which was a known stop on the Underground Railroad