Huguenot, Staten Island
Encyclopedia
South Shore, Staten Island
The South Shore is a geographical term applied to the area in the New York City borough of Staten Island, south and east of the island's ridge of hills along the waterfront and adjacent areas from the Narrows to the mouth of the Arthur Kill, although many observers prefer to restrict its scope to...
of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, one of the five borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
s of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In recent years it has become increasingly customary to refer to the western part of Huguenot as a separate neighborhood called Woodrow
Woodrow, Staten Island
Woodrow is a name increasingly applied to the western part of Huguenot, a neighborhood located on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York, United States.The first Methodist church in the immediate New York City area opened in the neighborhood in 1771...
. Originally named Bloomingview, its present name is derived from the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s, led by Daniel Perrin
Daniel Perrin
Daniel Perrin was one of the first permanent European inhabitants of Staten Island, New York. Known as "The Huguenot", he arrived in New York Harbor from the Isle of Jersey on July 29, 1665 aboard the ship Philip, under the command of Philip Carteret...
, who settled in the area during the late 17th century and early 18th centuries to escape religious persecution.
History
The community gained a station along the Staten Island RailwayStaten Island Railway
The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA...
soon after the line was extended to Tottenville
Tottenville, Staten Island
Tottenville with an area of approx. , is the southernmost neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City and New York State. Originally named Bentley Manor by one of its first settlers, Captain Christopher Billop , after a small ship he owned named the Bentley, the district was renamed Tottenville in...
in 1860. This station was given the name Huguenot Park, even though no park was actually located nearby; by the 1970s the word "Park" had been dropped, but later a branch of the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
was opened one block west of the station, replacing what was once the smallest New York Public Library building just east of the station (still standing), and named the Huguenot Park Branch, perhaps in honor of the station's former name.
Long noted for the beauty of its woodlands, Huguenot had a transformation that led to a significant rise in the population of the neighborhood. The first visible sign of this transformation, however, came not in the form of new home construction, but rather with the building of the new Tottenville High School
Tottenville High School
Tottenville High School is located at 100 Luten Avenue, in Huguenot, Staten Island, New York. It is within walking distance of the Huguenot train station of the Staten Island Railway system. Tottenville H.S. is in administrative district 31. The school’s current principal is John P. Tuminaro...
campus, which opened in 1972 in Huguenot (the existing high school buildings in Tottenville
Tottenville, Staten Island
Tottenville with an area of approx. , is the southernmost neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City and New York State. Originally named Bentley Manor by one of its first settlers, Captain Christopher Billop , after a small ship he owned named the Bentley, the district was renamed Tottenville in...
were converted into a junior high school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
).
Under the jurisdiction of The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, Huguenot Lodge, No. 381 was instituted on May 19, 1855 with E. W. Hubbard as the first Master; and incidentally, the second, third and fourth, also. The first meeting place was in the Odd Fellows Hall, on Amboy Road. In 1859, the Lodge moved to the Chapel of St. Paul's Methodist Church, which it occupied until 1883, when rooms were procured over Fisher's Drug Store at Main Street and Arthuir Kill Road. The last place of meeting, prior to the erection of a Temple, was in Knights Pythias Hall. The cornerstone of the present Temple on Main Street, Tottenville, was laid on June 12, 1909. The lodge was not named after the town it was located in but of the Huguenots who fled to the new world fearful of religious persecution.
E. W. Hubbard, the first Master, served for four years. This was nothing compared to the record created by his son, George C. Hubbard, who was raised in King Solomon's Lodge, and affiliated with Huguenot Lodge in 1857. He was Master of Huguenot Lodge in 1860, and again in 1867 through 1870, then again in 1888 through 1890 and finally 1893. He was District Deputy Grand Master on three different occasions, 1867-1868; 1870-1871, and then, nineteen years later, in 1889-1890. In 1894, he affiliated with Tompkins Lodge No. 471. [He was likely the only individual around who could afford it and willing to do so.]
Current
Public amenities have not kept up with the explosive pace of population growth in Huguenot and the surrounding neighborhoods that has taken place from the 1970s onward, as public transportation and sewer lines have not been upgraded fast enough to meet the increasing demand.Road problems include pothole
Pothole
A pothole is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole.- Formation :...
s, and there are few organized activities for adolescents, a fact often blamed for the considerable amount of vandalism
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
that occurs there. However, the region is one of the most mainstream on Staten Island, and one of the borough's most well maintained neighborhoods.
The local Roman Catholic parish, Our Lady Star of the Sea, has completed a major reconstruction/expansion. It is one of the largest parishes on the South Shore
South Shore, Staten Island
The South Shore is a geographical term applied to the area in the New York City borough of Staten Island, south and east of the island's ridge of hills along the waterfront and adjacent areas from the Narrows to the mouth of the Arthur Kill, although many observers prefer to restrict its scope to...
, and has experienced overcrowding problems for many years because of the rapid boom of new residents in the area. .
Transportation
Huguenot is served by the Staten Island Railway as well as the X17 and X19 New York City Transit busesNew York City Transit buses
New York City Transit buses, marked on the buses MTA New York City Bus, is a bus service that operates in all five boroughs of New York City, employing over 4300 buses on 219 routes within the five boroughs of New York City in the United States...
, and the X23,and X24 buses run by Atlantic Express
Atlantic Express
Atlantic Express may refer to:* Atlantic Express , a trading name for Atlantic Air Transport, a British airline* Atlantic Express , a public and school bus operating company in the United States...
. It is also served by the S55 and S56 local buses along Luten Avenue, and the S59/S78 along Hylan Blvd.