Billou-Stillwell-Perine House
Why it's listed
Standing on a bend of the old Richmond Road on Staten Island, this house grew from two small fieldstone dwellings built about 1680 and 1700 into a cluster of connected stone and frame sections. Both stone buildings are one and a half stories with steep gable roofs and thick irregular fieldstone walls. Frame kitchen additions followed around 1749, between 1760 and 1790, and about 1830. Captain Thomas Stillwell, a constable, sheriff, militia captain and member of the Colonial Assembly, is believed to have built the oldest section on land linked to his father-in-law Pierre Billou, a founder of Old Dorp. Later owners included Colonel Nicholas Britton, innkeeper Joseph Holmes, and the Perine family, whose two branches shared the house through most of the nineteenth century. British soldiers were quartered here during the Revolution. The Staten Island Antiquarian Society bought the house in 1915 and opened it as a museum. Its surviving early fabric makes it a rare example of local vernacular building.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it a significant illustration of early construction techniques and of how a seventeenth-century dwelling evolved into the early nineteenth century. It is an important example of domestic vernacular architecture from the 17th-18th century settlement of Staten Island. Its long association with prominent island families further supports its preservation.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 76001269, listed January 1, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1476 Richmond Rd., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Staten Island |
| Listed | January 1, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76001269 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Excellent condition and unaltered on its original site; used as a museum, owned by the Staten Island Historical Society since 1915. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.59279, -74.10051 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76001269.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4912009
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.