Staten Island, Richmond County, New York in the 1760s
Known then as Richmond County.
A rural, ferry-linked island county of farms, churches, enslaved labor, militia duty, and roads running through woods to the shore.
Looking around
You stand on a broad island still treated as one county, with salt water around it1 and farm roads leading toward landings. Turning inland, the country is largely rural3, with orchards beside farmhouses4 and wheat and rye fields4 laid in furrows rather than ditches. Some houses are wooden, with a few of stone4, and near the farms are cider presses worked by horse power4. Toward Richmond, county business gathers around a courthouse, jail, taverns, stores, and churches5. The church calendar is divided among St. Andrew's Church6 and Dutch, French Huguenot, and Waldensian traditions7 that have blended over generations. Roads run through woods to the water side4, and at the shore a traveler may board a yacht for the eight-mile crossing to New York4. The decade still carries the memory of British regiments camped on the island in 17614.
Work
Farms, orchards, army market
Work centers on wheat and rye fields4, orchards and cider presses4, stock, and produce. In 1761 the British camp itself created a market, asking farmers to bring stock and produce for sale4.
Faith
Several churches, blended peoples
The Anglican presence is visible at St. Andrew's Church at Richmond6, but it is not the only religious world. Older Dutch Reformed, Huguenot, and Waldensian7 worship still shapes names, burial grounds, and memory.
Law & power
County court and freeholders
Power gathers at Richmondtown's courthouse and jail5 and in the hands of magistrates, sheriffs, militia officers, and freeholders. Road orders and militia needs show local government reaching into everyday movement and defense.
What people feared
A watched frontier county
Only a few years before the decade, Richmond County called itself a frontier county liable to be the first invaded4. The fear was practical enough to raise lottery money for arms and accoutrements4.
Home & table
Wood, stone, cider, pewter
The ordinary house is likely wooden4, though some are stone. Meals and furnishings range from wooden trenchers4 to pewter, with suppawn and milk4 and cider appearing in remembered colonial foodways.
Money
Pieces of eight tickets
One printed measure of money is the militia lottery: 1,000 tickets at two and a half pieces of eight4. Its proceeds were meant to arm men too poor to equip themselves.
Who lived here
Dutch, English, French roots
A mid-century traveler found the older population largely Dutch in origin but speaking English for the most part4. Church history also preserves French Huguenot and Waldensian7 roots.
Roads & news
Roads to landings
News and strangers move by road and water: roads were laid so people could carry goods to the waterside4. From there, the city is a yacht crossing of eight English miles4.
Year by year
- 1756Richmond County advertised a lottery to raise up to £150 for arms for men unable to equip themselves. here4
- 1760George III became king of Great Britain, making Staten Islanders subjects of a new monarch. the world
- 1761Eleven British regiments camped in central Staten Island after service on the Canadian frontier. here4
- 1761General Jeffery Amherst was invested as a Knight of the Bath at the Staten Island camp before provincial dignitaries and spectators. here4
- 1763The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War and confirmed British control of Canada. the world
- 1765The Stamp Act made printed legal and commercial paper a subject of imperial taxation and colonial protest. the country
- 1766The Stamp Act was repealed, but Parliament asserted its authority over the colonies in the Declaratory Act. the country
- 1767The Townshend duties taxed imported goods such as glass, paint, paper, lead, and tea, feeding arguments heard across the colonies. the country
Pictures from the time
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What the sources say
- Richmond County in this decade meant Staten Island together with nearby Shooter's Island and the Islands of Meadow on the west side. from the sources1
- A modern archaeological report summarizes the island's population as about 1,889 in 1737 and around 3,000 by 1776. from the sources2
- The map point lies on the south-central part of Staten Island, so the safest scale for the 1760s is Richmond County rather than a named village at that point. inferred
- Staten Island remained largely rural through the colonial period and into the nineteenth century. from the sources3
- A 1694 Richmond County road record laid out highways for people living back in the woods to carry themselves and goods to the waterside. from the sources4
- Richmondtown had become the county center by the eighteenth century, with descriptions of a small village containing a courthouse, jail, taverns, stores, and churches. from the sources5
- Pehr Kalm's mid-eighteenth-century travel account described most Staten Island farmhouses as wooden, though some were built of stone. from the sources4
- Kalm observed orchards near almost every farmhouse and cider presses at farmhouses on Staten Island. from the sources4
- Kalm described Staten Island fields as sown with wheat or rye and bordered by furrows rather than ditches. from the sources4
- Kalm crossed from Staten Island to New York by yacht, calling the sea passage eight English miles and taking about three morning hours. from the sources4
- St. Andrew's Church at Richmond was an Anglican parish founded after Aeneas Mackenzie arrived in 1705 and chartered by Queen Anne in 1712 or 1713. inferred6
- Older Staten Island worship included Dutch Reformed, Huguenot, and Waldensian congregations, with French churches at Fresh Kill and Stony Brook remembered in later county history. from the sources7
- In August to November 1761, eleven British regiments returning from the Canadian frontier camped in the central part of Staten Island. from the sources4
- The 1761 army camp formed a market and invited Staten Island farmers to bring stock and produce for sale. from the sources4
- In 1756 Richmond County was described in a lottery notice as a frontier county liable to be the first invaded in case of attack, and the lottery sought up to £150 for arms and accoutrements for men unable to provide them. from the sources4
- The 1756 lottery sold 1,000 tickets at two and a half pieces of eight each, with prizes printed for publication in the New York Gazette. from the sources4
- Colonial household accounts for Staten Island mention wooden trenchers among poorer people, pewter dishes among wealthier people, feather beds, suppawn and milk for breakfast, and cider or chocolate with toasted bread. from the sources4
- St. Andrew's missionary system had the island divided into three precincts with a teacher in each, supported by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in London. from the sources7
- Enslaved people lived and worked on colonial Staten Island, but the opened sources here do not give a reliable 1760s Richmond County count. not known
- No online source opened here gives a precise 1760s price for a day's farm labor or a bushel of Staten Island wheat. not known
Sources
- History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, Part 31. LDS Genealogy, transcription of 1887 county history, 1887
- Archaeological Documentary Study, Staten Island. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, 2018
- Richmond Town Historic District. Living Places
- History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, Part 14. LDS Genealogy, transcription of 1887 county history, 1887
- The Staten Island Historian, April-June 1956. Staten Island Historical Society, 1956
- Our History. Church of St. Andrew, Staten Island
- History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, Part 33. LDS Genealogy, transcription of 1887 county history, 1887
Staten Island in other decades
Nearby, about the same time
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Researched by Yore’s AI historian (gpt-5.5) in October 2026 from the sources above. It is about the place and the time, not about any person. Statements marked “inferred” are conclusions drawn from the sources, not records. Also available as plain Markdown. To cite: Yore, “Staten Island, Richmond County, New York in the 1760s”, yorehistory.com/place/staten-island-richmond-county-new-york/1760s