Updated: Mar. 12, 2026, 11:19 a.m. | Published: Mar. 11, 2026, 5:50 a.m.
Sandy Ground is the nation’s oldest free Black settlement continuously inhabited by descendants. Advance Local Express Desk
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. — Glenda Laboard, 72, recalls the day her parents told her she was leaving her close-knit Rossville community, where her family had lived for decades, and moving to the Mariners Harbor Houses on the other side of the Island.
At just 6 years old, she knew she was leaving a special place and feared what life would be like in a new community.
“I expected the worst. I was afraid and angry, and I didn’t want to leave the little village that was my home,” Laboard said.
That village was Sandy Ground — the oldest continuously inhabited free Black community in the United States by descendants of its original settlers.
“Growing up in Sandy Ground was like growing up in the South. As kids, we ran around with no shoes on. … The only thing that sent us in the house was the giant mosquitoes. They were giant because it was all swamp. I remember we all played all day long,” she said.
Janise LaBoard-Casimir poses inside of Rossville AME Zion Church where she serves as historian. Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon) Jason PaderonJason Paderon
Laboard’s mother, Lois A.H. Mosley, wrote a book about her upbringing in Sandy Ground titled Sandy Ground Memories. Her father, Glenby Alvin Mosley — later known in professional baseball as Glen Richardson — played in the Negro Leagues, which were formed for Black players during segregation. He played for the Black Yankees in the mid- to late-1940s, according to public records.
Lois A.H. Mosley, wrote a book about her upbringing in Sandy Ground titled Sandy Ground Memories.Courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
Among Laboard’s fondest memories of Sandy Ground are church and family. Even after she moved away, she returned each Sunday to worship at Rossville AME Zion Church.
“We put on our Sunday best and went to church. It was an all-day experience — from morning until evening. Church was the center of our village. Everything I knew began and ended there,” she said. “Sandy Ground is my foundation, and I thank God for my ancestors keeping it alive so the world could know how important it is to maintain its history.”
Glenda Laboard, 72, recalls the day her parents told her she was leaving her close-knit Rossville community, where her family had lived for decades, and moving to the Mariners Harbor Houses on the other side of the Island.Jason Paderon
Founded in 1828, Sandy Ground was established by free Black gardeners and later became home to Black oystermen and their families from Snow Hill, Maryland, drawn by the rich oyster beds in the Raritan Bay. While segregation plagued the country, Sandy Ground thrived. Residents owned land at a time when most Black Americans were denied that opportunity, and the community is also believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Pictured from left to right are: Gerrell Mosley- Brown, Lois A.H. Mosley and Janise LaBoard- Casimir. Janise Laboard-Casmir (right) with family members in Rossville AME Zion Church.Courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
Nearly two centuries later, the 35-member congregation of Rossville AME Zion Church — including Laboard’s daughter, Janise Laboard-Casmir — has launched a fundraising campaign to repair remaining buildings and expand the historic community, with the goal of attracting visitors from around the world.
Deep roots in Sandy Ground
On her grandmother’s paternal side, Laboard-Casmir descends from Francis Jackson, sister of Capt. John Jackson, a free Black mariner who purchased land in Sandy Ground in 1828, shortly after slavery was abolished in New York.
Janise LaBoard-Casimir poses inside of Rossville AME Zion Church where she serves as historian. Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon) Jason PaderonJason Paderon
Francis Jackson married a man known only as Henry, believed to have been a formerly enslaved man living on Staten Island. Their descendants remained in Sandy Ground, primarily working as oystermen — a dominant trade throughout the 19th century.
However, the thriving oystering industry began to decline around 1916, according to Mosley’s book.
Photos from Lois A.H. Mosley’s book, “Sandy Ground Memories.”From “Sandy Ground Memories,” courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
“At that time, there were toxins in the water. Some say it was intentional — that there was a level of threat from white oystermen because Black oystermen were doing so well. We don’t know if that’s true, but that’s what was speculated,” Laboard-Casmir, the Rossville AME Zion Church historian, said.
Around that time, many Sandy Ground residents began seeking civil service jobs, she said.
Pictured is Janise Laboard-Casmir (left) as a child in Rossville AME Zion Church.Courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
On her grandmother’s maternal side, Laboard-Casmir descends from the Landon family, including well-known oystermen Robert and Dorset Landon, who owned large sloops and operated successful oyster businesses.
Several of her ancestors were also founding members and early leaders of Rossville AME Zion Church, established in 1850 as the spiritual and social center of Sandy Ground. Church records list members of the Jackson and Harris families among early trustees and deacons.
The cover of Lois A.H. Mosley’s book, “Sandy Ground Memories.”From “Sandy Ground Memories,” courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
“It’s the lifeline of the family — the bloodline of the family. It’s the connector. It’s what we can always come back to,” Laboard-Casmir said.
Together, both sides of her family represent more than seven generations connected to Sandy Ground, its church and its legacy of Black landownership and self-determination.
“I looked around and said, ‘No one’s going to preserve this.’ And I realized it’s really my obligation to do it, because I know it,” she said.
Janise LaBoard-Casimir poses inside of Rossville AME Zion Church where she serves as historian. Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon) Jason PaderonJason Paderon
‘Sandy Ground Memories’
Mosley’s Sandy Ground Memories serves as a detailed record of Sandy Ground’s families, tracing multiple generations of descendants, said Laboard-Casmir.
The back cover of Lois A.H. Mosley’s book, “Sandy Ground Memories.”From “Sandy Ground Memories,” courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
The book also chronicles the history of AME Zion Church, detailing its founding, early members, leadership and role as the center of community life.
“I’m reading this book, and I didn’t think I knew — but I knew more about her than I realized,” she said. “And then I’m like, ‘This is amazing.’ It tells the entire history — who worked as what, who were the trustees, the members — everything is there.”
Laboard-Casmir said her grandmother meticulously recorded names, occupations, relationships and stories of relatives and neighbors — capturing teachers, civil rights leaders, tradespeople and artists — creating what she calls a “comprehensive and irreplaceable” account of Sandy Ground’s legacy.
Photos from Lois A.H. Mosley’s book, “Sandy Ground Memories.”From “Sandy Ground Memories,” courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
“I would almost say Sandy Ground is synonymous with my breath — like life. I don’t exist without it,” she said.
Photos from Lois A.H. Mosley’s book, “Sandy Ground Memories.”From “Sandy Ground Memories,” courtesy of Janise Laboard-Casmir
Urgent needs
Members of Rossville AME Zion Church say their most urgent need is to replace the rear steps leading into the sanctuary, which they’ve received an estimated cost of $16,000, said Laboard-Casimir. They also said they need help addressing overgrown vegetation and dangerous trees near the Baymen’s Cottages.
From left to right, Jerome Moody, Janise LaBoard-Casimir, Lucille Herring and Yvette Taylor-Jordan stand in front of their beloved Rossville AME Zion Church in historic Sandy Ground on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com |Jason Paderon)
Laboard-Casimir also identified several building and equipment needs inside and outside the properties, including repairs to the church’s facade, a large outdoor shed to replace one that previously collapsed after suffering termite damage, and help with sanctuary upgrades, including new carpeting, a new pulpit and repairs of the church’s microphone system.
From left to right, Jerome Moody, Janise LaBoard-Casimir, Lucille Herring and Yvette Taylor-Jordan stand in front of their beloved Rossville AME Zion Church in historic Sandy Ground on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com |Jason Paderon)
Laboard-Casimir also identified several building and equipment needs inside and outside the properties, including repairs to the church’s facade, a large outdoor shed to replace one that previously collapsed after suffering termite damage, and help with sanctuary upgrades, including new carpeting, a new pulpit and repairs of the church’s microphone system.
Across from the Rossville AME Zion Church at 569 Bloomingdale Road, are the “Baymen’s Cottages” built between 1887 and 1898. (Advance/SILive.com | Owen Reiter).
How to help
Community members and preservation advocates can help the members of Rossville AME Zion Church. The group has initiated fundraising efforts to benefit repair of the landmarked structures in the community. To donate, visit: rossvilleamezionny.org/giving, select “other” and write in “preservation and restoration” efforts. To volunteer, call: (718) 356-0200.
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