This story is so old it has whiskers. The truth is Hudson named the island after the Staten General which is the Dutch Parliament. The British when they took over New York named it Richmond after the bastard son of one of the Henries, however many of the Dutch names remain.

        When New York incorperated it became one of the five boroughs although it is much closer to New Jersey than New York. In fact up until the 1970's the only way to get to the island was by a ferry boat which ran from lower Manhattan at the battery to St. George in Staten Island. In the 70's it was connected by the Verazzano Bridge from Brooklyn.

        However since the early 20’s it was connected to N.J. by 3 bridges The Goethals Bridge, The Bayonne Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing named for the first director of the Port Authority. During those early years it was very pastoral with many private houses and estates. It was also a retreat for the wealthy because of the many beaches on the island.

        It fronts on the Atlantic Ocean and is separated from N.J. by 2 rivers the Kill van Kull and the Arthur Kill. It also has a railway which used to be the Tottenville railway until it was taken over by the MTA when it became the Staten Island Railway running from St. George to Tottenville.

        If you want the whole history of Staten Island Wickopedia has some nice articles. I want to tell about some of the sights.

        Any visit to New York City longer than a weekend should take in Staten Island. If you take the subway to the Battery at the end of Manhattan you can get the Staten Island Ferry. This is a 20 minute ride across harbor to St George on Staten Island.

        This trip is especially nice in the summer. They usually have live music on the trip by musicians making some money by playing and passing the hat. After landing at St George you can take the railway (which consists of a couple of subway cars) to the end of the line which is Tottenville.

        During the trip you will pass through pastoral scenery. When you get back to St George there are restaurants where you can have a nice lunch.

        After spending some time in Staten Island you can take the ferry back to Manhatten. On the way there and back you will pass close to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

        I do hope you get a chance to visit Staten Island even if you only take the ferry there and back, You can at least spend an enjoyable hour seeing the harbor and the least known of the 5 boroughs.

bigdaddi