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We can learn so much about the history of our town from the names of our streets and places in the community. 

In 1903, William T. Davis, noted Staten Island historian, compiled a map  to identify and record the locations of many named places throughout Staten Island, based on the place names described in Morris Memorial History of Staten Island, 1898 . Virtually none of these names are used today.

We are updating this map for Tottenville, Richmond Valley, and Charleston by adding 20^th century nicknames. We need your help! Tell us your special nickname(s) for place(s) in these communities. A detailed description of the location, including the date and a photo, if possible, would be helpful. Write to us today!

Street Names

Many of our streets were named for prominent families. Many of those families were large landowners and/or successful business people or civic leaders. Now that we have a better understanding of the history of our town and the people who came before, we'd like to share with you some of what we've learned about these street names and the families they were named for:

Amboy Road - one of the 9 oldest roads on Staten Island. It was often referred to the "the road leading to the ferry."  This ferry, of course, led to Perth Amboy, NJ.

Arthur Kill Road - This road, which runs parallel with the Arthur Kill waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey, once consisted of differently named sections: Fresh Kills Rd., Mill Dam Rd., Broadway, Washington St., and East Broadway. It does not appear continuously on the maps as Arthur Kill Rd. until the 1910s, when the demand for better roadway access for a booming town was realized.

Barnard Ave . - Owen H. Barnard built and owned the Silk Mill on Richmond Valley Road. Although he lived near Allentown Lane in Charleston, he also owned acreage near Barnard Ave., Tottenville.

Brighton St .  - Formerly Garretson Place. Named for Garret Garretson, farmer, who owned many acres extending from Amboy Rd. to the Bay. The "Brighton" connection is not yet known.

Butler Ave . - Daniel Butler, oysterman, resided at the corner of Butler Ave. and Amboy Rd., and owned several acres here.

Bethel Ave. - Formerly named Church St. and renamed for Bethel United Methodist Church. At one time Church St. crossed the railroad tracks and connected to  Arthur Kill Rd.

Craig Ave. - Formerly called Elliott Ave. and named for Bentley St. resident Walter T. Elliott who was an educator, surveyor, and businessman.  Craig Ave., between Amboy Rd. and Hylan Blvd., was constructed in the late 1920s when Hylan Blvd. was built.  It was named for Mayor Hylan's Comptroller, Charles Craig. 

Ellis St. - Jacob Ellis established Tottenville's first shipyard on the Sound, between Main and Tyrrell Sts. Jacob's brother, Cornelius C. Ellis, another Tottenville resident, was a tug boat captain and harbormaster for New York City.

Fisher Ave. - Members of the Fisher family arrived in Tottenville in the early 1800s and owned many acres of land.  It is written that the earliest Fisher house (which still exists today) was built to face the Arthur Kill, but later turned to front the newly opened road, today's Fisher Ave.  Prior to the 1940s, vehicular traffic crossed the railroad tracks at Fisher Ave. to continue along Broadway (today's Arthur Kill Rd.) to Richmond Valley.

Hart Pl. - Named in honor of Cornelius Hart, former County Clerk of Richmond County, who was a successful land developer.  The area surrounding Hart Pl. was once referred to as Hart Heights, although it was never developed by Hart.

Hopping Ave . - The Hopping family, related by marriage to the Tottens, were prominent residents and business people.

Hylan Blvd . - Named for John Francis Hylan (1868-1936), the Mayor of New York City from 1918 to 1925.  Not many people remember when Hylan Blvd. was constructed in 1927.  A median, albeit short-lived, ran down the center of the road from Page Ave. to the Conference House.  And Hylan Blvd. continued to the water's edge, not ending at Satterlee St., where the Pavilion is today.

Hylan Blvd. median at Manhattan St. looking west (ca. 1929)
(Gift of Chesta Dunigan)

Johnson Ave .  The Johnson family were large landowners, mariners, and oystermen, who lived near the water's edge on the Sound as early as the 18^th century.

Joline Ave . - Formerly Central Ave., Benjamin Joline, farmer, settled near the Bay ca. 1830 and purchased copious amounts of farmland.  

Lee Ave. - Formerly called Center St. and later named for the Robert Lee family.   Father and sons were builders, and constructed many homes along this street and the surrounding streets. Robert Lee and family resided at 7372 Amboy Road.

Lenhart St . - Named for Chaplain John L. Lenhart, Amboy Rd. resident, who was the first naval chaplain to die in service to his country in 1862.

Main St. - Once called Totten St. until 1897. This street led to Totten's Landing on the Sound, and became the business center of the village from the late 1800's through the mid-1900's.

St. Andrew's Place - Near the Nassau train station, St. Andrew's Church at one time owned many acres in this area.

Wood Ave. - There were numerous Wood families in Tottenville.  We learned during deed research that this street was laid out in 1868.  Elias P. Wood, oysterman, owned much of the land surrounding this street.

Yetman Ave . - This street was named for Hubbard R. Yetman, teacher, justice of the peace, state assemblyman, and first Borough Superintendent of Schools in Richmond County. Yetman lived at 5336 Arthur Kill Rd., at the southeast corner of Yetman Ave. The house was built by William Joline, Yetman's father-in-law, ca. 1845. Yetman Ave. was originally mapped as William Street, possibly to honor Joline. In the 1890's, it was popularly referred to as Hogan's Alley. The street was graded and paved in 1896,  more than a year earlier than the town's most important road, Main St.

Many local victims of Sept. 11 have been honored with a secondary street sign.
The official name of the street, however, has not changed.

For more information on street name changes, visit the Staten Island genealogy website .