To paraphrase someone, it takes a village to preserve a town. It is not just one person’s job. It is the responsibility of everyone in the community to help save our past for future generations. If we depend only on one person, the Borough Historian or anyone else, we will lose too much of our precious past. Preserving and sharing our history is a job for everyone. As older Staten Islanders pass on, a lot of our history is passed on with them, and we want to preserve their memories and make them available to as many other people as possible.
We are calling on everyone to get involved in helping to save pictures, documents, and stories of days gone by.
Here Are A Few Ways For You To Help:
- You can look through your attics and basements for pictures, postcards, documents,s or other exciting artifacts from our past. While personal photographs are valuable to family members, we are more interested in images that show our Island before it became home for so many people. So, donate them to us, along with a brief description, and we will make them available to everyone on this site. Eventually, they will be given to one of the historical organizations on the Island to be archived.
- We are going to undertake a project to collect oral histories. These stories and information about our island are not necessarily documented anywhere else. Older Staten Islanders will be interviewed,d and their reports will be confirmed. These stories will be made available to everyone first here and then published in book form for everyone to own.
- Volunteers will be needed to assist in collecting and cataloging historical information. You don’t need previous experience; you only need the love of history. We will provide all the training you will need. E-mail us your name and contact information (phone number and e-mail address) using the Contact Us link at the top of this website. All personal data will be kept confidential.
What’s Next?
If you are interested in our Island’s history, revisiting this site regularly will be necessary. At least once a month, this Home Page will feature one of our historical and cultural institutions. In addition, this site is constantly updated with information and activities you will want to know about.
Don’t have the time to be involved but still want to keep informed? E-mail us using the Contact Us link at the top of this website and ask to be put on our mailing list. When new information becomes available, significant changes to this site are made, and more exciting events are coming up. You will be notified. Once again, all personal data will be kept confidential.
This site is constantly evolving. New information is added, and categories are changed. Our goal is to help provide access to our history as quickly as possible, so if the site is not meeting your expectations or has any suggestions for improving the site, please let us know.