EDITOR’S NOTE
This story is part of an ongoing journalistic initiative to rally the community and the country around a critical, but endangered, historical site: Sandy Ground, the nation’s oldest free Black settlement still inhabited by descendants of its pioneers.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Long before Staten Island was connected to the rest of New York City via the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, there was a close-knit, self-sustaining community tucked away on the South Shore where neighbors built their own churches, farmed their own land, taught their children to read, and looked after one another.
This might sound commonplace for a community founded in 1828, but Sandy Ground was different. It was started by free Black gardeners, and later inhabited by Black oystermen and their families from Snow Hill, Maryland who were attracted to the rich oyster beds in the Raritan Bay. While segregation was a prevalent scourge across the country at the time, Sandy Ground thrived. Its residents owned their land at a time when most Black Americans were denied that opportunity. The community is also believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Nearly two centuries later, Sandy Ground is the oldest free Black community still inhabited by descendants of its original settlers. But the community, located in the heart of Rossville, struggles to survive.
In 2023, the Sandy Ground Historical Society, which oversees the community’s museum, put out a call for help after the organization lost its nonprofit status and faced mounting bills. They also desperately needed help to rebuild their deteriorating museum that had become flooded and riddled with mold.
After learning of Sandy Ground’s plight through an Advance/SILive.com journalistic initiative, the Staten Island community banded together. The Historical Society regained its non-profit status, a funding campaign was launched and community events unfolded.
But two years later, the museum is still uninhabitable and it’s unclear how the Historical Society plans to rebuild. Since that initial push to stabilize the organization, the Sandy Ground Historical Society has seen two interim executive directors step in to guide the effort, to no avail.
Meanwhile, a group that was traditionally focused on worship, is now stepping up to make preservation of this historic community their main focus.
“It’s not a choice; we have to preserve the history,” said Janise LaBoard-Casimir, a Sandy Ground descendant and Rossville AME Zion Church historian. “Many people have moved away, but they hold on to their ancestry. There’s a sense of pride, there’s a sense of home, and we’re not going to let it go.”
Rossville AME Zion Church
In the newly refurbished basement of the sanctuary built in 1897, descendants of Sandy Ground recently told the Advance/SILive.com Editorial Board that it’s not just the landmarked structures, like the Rossville AME Zion Church and surviving homes of the community that tell the story of Sandy Ground – it’s the many generations of proud residents who continue to talk about its history.
“We’re dedicated to preserving the history, and our money comes here [to the church] and stays here and we see the fruits of our labor,” said native Sandy Ground resident Lucille Herring, who recently moved back to the community.
Rossville AME Zion Church, founded in 1849 by Virginia-born minister William H. Pitt, has served as the spiritual and cultural center of Sandy Ground for nearly two centuries.
With only 35 remaining members – of whom the average age is 70 years old – the church itself is one of Staten Island’s, New York City’s and the nation’s most historic sites. Though small, this congregation is mighty. They recently managed to raise money – through the sale of property, flea markets, book drives and other events – to create a community space in the basement of this long-standing community pillar.
The project consisted of freshly painted ocean blue colored walls, a full modern kitchen and new handicap accessible bathrooms. And the space is reserved not just for members of the church, but for others across the borough to rent as an event space.
“It’s 35 members and God,” said LaBoard-Casimir. “The funding is unlimited with God. This is how people keep finding us when we’re not advertising ourselves. It’s a movement, and we’re thankful for it…There are a lot of things we would love to do but we don’t have the capacity.”
In its fight to preserve the history, members of the AME Zion Church are fundraising to make physical improvements to the church, two neighboring cemeteries, and two clapboard Bayman’s Houses, which were built between 1887 and 1898 and once housed the community’s oystermen and their families. All the structures are New York City Landmarks, and any repairs need to retain the original character of the buildings. The community holds a National Designation as the Sandy Ground Archeological District, and it appears on the National Register of Historic Places.
If fueled with funding for repairs, the church members envision transforming the landmarked structures into venues for visitors and tourists to learn about the history of Sandy Ground.
Historical Society update
The Sandy Ground Historical Society shares the mission to preserve the history of the community. Chairperson Julie Moody Lewis reported in the group’s inaugural newsletter this month that the organization has expanded its educational outreach in 2025 through traveling exhibits, school partnerships, and a major two‑year installation at Borough Hall, while also advancing preservation work.
“Our preservation team made meaningful progress in cataloging and digitizing artifacts that tell the powerful stories of the free Black oystermen, farmers, and entrepreneurs who built this community. We also expanded our partnerships— with local schools, cultural institutions and volunteers,” Moody Lewis wrote.
She said the organization entered 2026 with plans to launch new exhibitions, expand its oral history project, and deepen educational programming. She noted in the newsletter that the Historical Society recently installed three new board members. However, she also mentioned that the Historical Society’s website has been hacked and is under reconstruction.
Mack Graham, who served as interim executive director for about a year, said he made significant strides with the Historical Society Board.
“We developed a strategic plan and we developed bylaws,” said Graham, “It was really just about them increasing their funding revenue. At the time, they were looking to get some more support around the administrative aspect of it.”
After obtaining a new job last year as vice president of development for HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services, Graham said he could no longer continue working with the Historical Society.
Prior to Graham, David McGoy served as interim executive director of the Historical Society for most of 2024. Reflecting on his year as interim executive director of Sandy Ground, McGoy — now director of strategic partnerships at Community Resource Exchange — emphasized that preserving history can’t fall solely on “small and mighty” organizations. “History belongs to all of us, so we all have to do our part to preserve it,” he said.
He noted that Staten Island is fortunate to have broad community support for protecting Black history, but added that small, community‑led nonprofits — especially those serving people of color — face steep challenges in sustaining growth and momentum amid an unpredictable funding landscape. “They exist in a constant state of flux,” he said.
Rossville AME Zion Church history
The current church at 584 Bloomingdale Road was built in 1897 and was designed by Tottenville builder Andrew Abrams. It still retains much of its original architectural character despite later recladding.
After early services in Rev. Pitt’s home, the congregation purchased land on Crabtree Lane in 1852, building its first church there in 1854 and establishing the Rossville AME Zion Church Cemetery. The burial ground contains about 100 marked graves and more than 500 unmarked graves identified through ground‑penetrating radar, making it one of the country’s most significant African American burial sites.
A second cemetery, often referred to as the Sandy Ground Cemetery or Rossville AME Zion Church Cemetery, continues to operate preserving the resting place of generations of Sandy Ground families.
“Help us preserve this legacy,” said Noelle Jordan, a ninth generation descendant of Sandy Ground. “If everything else [the physical structures] went away tomorrow, you still have these amazing individuals with their incredible stories. And that’s not going to go away. We need to take what is left and try to preserve it.”
How to help
If you would like to help the members of Rossville AME Zion Church with their fundraising efforts that will benefit repair of the landmarked structures in the community, visit: rossvilleamezionny.org/giving.
MORE SANDY GROUND COVERAGE
- ‘It’s home’: Family says Rossville church’s deeper value can’t be found in history books
Sharing ‘untold stories’ of a Staten Island historic community is this professor’s mission
Free Black Staten Island settlers greatly contributed to 19th Century N.Y. economy through oyster industry
Staten Island leader of historic free Black community celebrates major milestone
Sandy Ground Emancipation Day celebration educates, unites Staten Islanders
