STATEN ISLAND, an island constituting the borough of Richmond, New York city, and Richmond county, the southern most of the counties of the State of New York. It is separated from Long island on the east by the Narrows which connects up per and lower New York bay, from New Jersey on the north by the narrow channel of Kill van Kull which connects New York bay with Newark bay; and from New Jersey on the west by the narrow channel of Arthur Kill. On its south-east coast are lower New York, Raritan and Prince's bays, Great Kills, and the Atlan tic ocean.
Triangular in shape, it is 131m. long from north-east to south west, has a maximum width of nearly 8m. at its north end, and has an area of 57sq. miles. The north-east quarter is broken by two ranges of hills having a precipitous east slope and rising to a maximum height of about 400ft., Tin. inland from the Narrows; but on the west and south the hills fall gently to the coastal plain, which, occupying the greater part of the island, is broken only by low morainal ridges and terminates in salt marshes along much of the west coast. There are many species of forest trees and more than 1,300 species of flowering plants and ferns.
The population in 1910 was 85,969; in 1930, 158,346. The north shore, including New Brighton, West New Brighton and Port Richmond, is largely given over to industrial development. In 1927 the local chamber of commerce listed 252 industrial es tablishments, employing 20,320 persons, with a capital investment of more than $93,000,000, and a product valued at $103,000,000. There are shipyards, bakeries, lumber mills, printing and pub lishing houses, and factories for the manufacturing of clothing, soap, linoleum, fertilizer, fireworks and other products. The chief residential communities lie along the easterly shore, from St. George south to Ft. Wadsworth. Tottenville, on the south-west tip of the island, is both a residential and industrial district. South and Midland beaches below the Narrows are popular seaside resorts.
The Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway furnishes electrified passenger service along the north and easterly shores. The north shore branch of this railroad, with a terminal at St. George, is the New York terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for the handling of freight. The island is connected by ferry with the boroughs of Manhattan and of Brooklyn, and vehicular bridges, completed in 1928, connect the south shore with Perth Amboy (N.J.) and Howland Hook, Staten island, with Elizabeth (N.J.). A third bridge, the steel-arch Kill van Kull, with a span of 1,652 ft. which connects the north shore of the island with Bayonne (N.J.), was completed in 1931. Staten island has 21 deep-water
steamship piers, 1,20oft. in length, equipped with modern freight handling devices, and within the free lighterage district of New York city. In March 1929 steps were taken for the construction of a tunnel at the Narrows to connect the island with Brooklyn, but the work was not completed.
When discovered by Europeans, Staten island was occupied by the Aquehonga Indians, a branch of the Raritans. Several In dian burying-grounds and many Indian relics, including a stone head with human features, have been found here. In 1630 the Dutch West India Company granted the island to Michael Pauw as a part of his patroonship of Pavonia, but Pauw sold his title back to the company without establishing a settlement and in 1636 a portion of it was regranted to David Pietersen de Vries, the remainder being erected into a patroonship and granted to Cornelis Melyn. In 1641 de Vries established a settlement at Oude Dorp (Old Town), near South Beach, but after its destruc tion by the Indians in 1655 it was abandoned. In 1658 a company of Waldenses settled at Stony Brook, about 2M. W. of the ruins of Oude Dorp, and this was the principal village for many years.
In 1664 when the duke of York became proprietor of the newly erected province of New York he granted Berkeley and Carteret all that portion of his province which lay west of the Hudson river, thus making Staten island a part of New Jersey. In 1668, how ever, the duke decided that all islands within New York bay which could be circumnavigated in 24 hours should be adjudged to New York. Capt. Christopher Billopp making the trip within the time limit, he was granted 1,163ac. of the south end of the island which became the manor of Bentley. The manor-house, built about this time, is still standing in the village of Tottenville. In this house Lord Howe on Sept. 11, 1776, held a peace conference with Ben jamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge representing the Continental Congress. From July 3, 1777, until the close of the Revolutionary War, Staten island was held by the British. In the War of 1812 Ft. Richmond was built at the Narrows and Ft. Tompkins in the rear of it. The Federal Government bought the site in 5847 and after destroying the old forts began the erec tion of the present Ft. Wadsworth and Tompkins, which consti tutes one of New York's strongest defences. In 1898 Staten island became the borough of Richmond in Greater New York.
See J. J. Clute, Annals of Staten Island (1877) ; R. M. Bayles, His tory of Richmond County (1887) ; and I. K. Morris, Memorial History of Staten Island (1898-190o).