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Photograph of Voorlezer's House
Photograph by Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Voorlezer's House

A National Historic Landmark. Built in 1695 (Dutch colonial architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. 16 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1898.

From the record

“The Voorlezer's House is a historic clapboard frame house in Historic Richmond Town in Staten Island, New York. It was previously believed to be the oldest known schoolhouse in what is now the United States.”

Wikipedia article Voorlezer's House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 63 National Register listings published here for Richmond County · listed in 1966 · category: Building · built in 1695, Dutch colonial architecture · a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • Address. Arthur Kill Rd., opposite Center St., New York, 10306
  • When was it listed? October 1966
  • Category. building
  • Borough. Staten Island
  • When was it built? 1695
  • Architectural style. Dutch colonial architecture, vernacular architecture
  • National Register reference number. 66000565 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1898 to 1986

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 88 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Voorlezer's House, surveyed 1986
Topographic sheet covering Voorlezer's House, surveyed 1898

Fires near this property

2,350 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2,350 fires within 5 miles of Voorlezer's House between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,807 acres in total. 238 started naturally. 185 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1680
Natural238
Arson/incendiarism185
Smoking90
Equipment and vehicle use53
Debris and open burning41
Recreation and ceremony22
Misuse of fire by a minor17
Fireworks12
Power generation/transmission/distribution9
Other causes3

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2017Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A
9 September 2010Smokingunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2010Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresFire Department of New YorkN/A

Every fire recorded in Richmond County

Mines and quarries near this property

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Voorlezer's House: 4 past producers, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Platinum. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Engelhard Minerals & Chem/ CarteretPlatinumPlant
Cooper & Hewitt MineIronPast Producer
New Dorp MineIronPast Producer
Tyson MineIronPast Producer
Tyson's Mine & 2 Additional MinesIronPast ProducerResidual

Every working recorded in Richmond County

Maps showing this location

16 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the middle of the area the National Park Service maps for this listing, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Richmond Town Historic Districtunder 500 feet2025
Church of St. Andrew (Episcopal)0.1 miles2000
LaTourette House0.3 miles1982
Staten Island Light0.5 miles2005
New Dorp Light0.5 miles1973
Moore-McMillen House0.5 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 66000565 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Richmond CountyAll 63 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.