The Conference House, built in the 17th Century and located at the southern most tip of Staten Island, is famous for the Peace Conference held there on September 11, 1776 in an attempt to avoid the American Revolution.
When the colonies declared their independence, the insurgent State of new York confiscated the property of pro-British colonists. Colonel Billopp, the hereditary owner of the House and ardently pro-British, felt pressed to emigrate to Nova Scotia, where he and his family were given property by the King of England to recognize his loyalty to the Crown.
For the next 150 years, the House would pass from one private owner to the next and remain in obscurity. One of the owners turned it into an inn, others made structural alterations.
In the early 1920's this beautiful manor house was about to be razed. Through the efforts of a group of concerned citizens, a non-profit organization, The Conference House Association, was formed, and the House was saved. In 1929 the Municipal Assembly of the City of New York placed the House under the Association's aegis.
The House, a National and New York City Landmark, is the only pre-Revolutionary manor house still surviving in New York City. It stands majestically in Conference House Park overlooking Raritan Bay.
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