{"nrhp_refnum":"66000565","name":"Voorlezer's House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Arthur Kill Rd., opposite Center St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Staten Island","state":"NY","lat":40.57142414650005,"lon":-74.14749532710354,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1961-11-05","areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red clapboarded frame building on Arthur Kill Road, opposite Center Street, in Richmondtown, Staten Island, New York, built circa 1695 (before 1696) by early Dutch settlers as a church, school and residence for the voorlezer.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest elementary school building in the United States and one of the most important surviving relics of 17th century Dutch settlement in New York. It was the only Dutch Reformed place of worship on Staten Island from about 1695 to 1701. It was also the first property in the Staten Island Historical Society's restoration of Richmondtown.","narrative":"Built around 1695 in what was then Coccles Town, now Richmondtown on Staten Island, this two-story clapboarded frame building served the early Dutch community as a church, a school and the home of the voorlezer, a layman who led services, kept church records and taught reading, writing, arithmetic and catechism. It is described as the oldest elementary school building in the United States. Its oak and whitewood timbers were hewn by broadax and joined with mortises, tenons and wooden pegs, and it keeps wide white pine floorboards and a large kitchen fireplace. Church records show it was the only Dutch Reformed place of worship on the island until the congregation moved to the north shore in 1701. The house then served as a private residence until the Staten Island Historical Society acquired it in 1939. It was later moved back 13 feet from the road and now operates as a museum.","period_of_significance":"circa 1695","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Maintained as a museum by the Staten Island Historical Society; the form lists it as occupied, with restricted public access. Visit reports note dampness and a partly furnished interior.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.140511-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/66000565_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000565/5623e16320-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000565/5623e16320-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Dmadeo","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vorleezer-house.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Dmadeo</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vorleezer-house.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100010190","name":"Richmond Town Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/richmond-town-historic-district-100010190/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316043","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voorlezer%27s_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7941724"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/staten-island/voorlezers-house-66000565/"}