Conference House
This grand stone manor house was built c. 1680 by Christopher Billopp, a Royal Navy captain, as the center of his 1,600-acre estate. It is named the Conference House for the Revolutionary War peace conference that was held here on September 11, 1776 with John Adams, Edward Rutledge and Benjamin Franklin representing the Continental Congress, and Admiral Lord Richard
Howe representing King George III of England. Despite their negotiations to end the fighting, no agreement was reached and the war continued for another seven years. After the war, the Conference House was purchased by Samuel Ward for his son Caleb Ward Sr., who divided the estate into smaller parcels for his five children and many grandchildren. The area became known as Ward’s Point. Over the next century, the house changed hands
several times and deteriorated extensively. In 1927 the Conference House Association was established to preserve the house, and it has been open as a museum ever since. Today the house survives as the oldest stone manor in Staten Island. Special events and educational programs focus on the Billopp family and the Revolutionary War conference.
Conference House
This grand stone manor house was built c. 1680 by Christopher Billopp, a Royal Navy captain, as the center of his 1,600-acre estate. It is named the Conference House for the Revolutionary War peace conference that was held here on September 11, 1776 with John Adams, Edward Rutledge and Benjamin Franklin representing the Continental Congress, and Admiral Lord Richard
Howe representing King George III of England. Despite their negotiations to end the fighting, no agreement was reached and the war continued for another seven years. After the war, the Conference House was purchased by Samuel Ward for his son Caleb Ward Sr., who divided the estate into smaller parcels for his five children and many grandchildren. The area became known as Ward’s Point. Over the next century, the house changed hands
several times and deteriorated extensively. In 1927 the Conference House Association was established to preserve the house, and it has been open as a museum ever since. Today the house survives as the oldest stone manor in Staten Island. Special events and educational programs focus on the Billopp family and the Revolutionary War conference.