The Big House On Richmond Hill

The Gustav A. Mayer house sits on top a hill in New Dorp on Richmond Hill Rd. It was built in 1855 and made a land mark in 1989. The house was home to famed inventor Gustav A. Mayer, who moved his confectionery business to the Island from Manhattan. The house was originally built for David R. Ryers, and older man who was robbed by the New Dorp Highway Robbers in 1897.


Mayer was a entrepreneur who was very successful in the many things he took interest in. His shop was located in Stapleton to be close to the upscale section of Staten Island. Gustav was the inventor of the sugar wafer and also made desirable Christmas tree ornaments when they became a chic possession. He sold the sugar wafer to Nabisco who now owns the rights to the cookie. His ornaments where so desirable because of the shiny smooth tin and hand painted detail. He closed down his shop and moved his business into his house 


Members of the Mayer family still live at the location and are renovating the house to restore it to its original splendor. They upkeep the land it sits on the same way Gustav did when he ran the house.

Lakeman-Courtelyou-Taylor House: One of the oldest buildings in Staten Island

Lakeman-Courtelyou-Taylor House

 In the New Dorp section of Staten Island stands a pretty amazing building. Said to be built in 1680 by Abraham Lakeman, a well known islander who's name appears all over the Islands historic documents, it stands on what is now Richmond Rd for over 5 centuries, 2286 Richmond to be exact. Richmond Road is a colonial-era road whose origins go back to, maybe even, the Native American period before the colonization.

Lakeman built this house on a piece of property he received from his fathers estate  after his death. Then in 1751 it was bought by Aaron Cortelyou, who's son in law sold it to Joseph Taylor in 1794. The house is now owned by the  Kirchoffer family who bought it in 1928 and use it as part of their family business, you guessed it a floral shop. Better known to new aged islanders as Moravian Florist.

The house was going to be torn down to make room for newer structures, but in 1999 the Kirchoffer family hired a architect from the island named David Carnivale. So in 2001 the plans were set into action after researching the history of the home. Carnivale discovered that even though the house had major structure problems, it was surprisingly intact. He uncovered 3 17th century fire places, beautiful paneling walls where uncovered that dated to the 17th century as well. There is little history and documents on this house, but i will try to gather up some more info as i am planning a trip to the historical society to rummage through old documents i will update this post as soon as i can.