The Dutch West India Company made several attempts to settle 'Staaten Eylandt beginning in 1639. After a final treaty with the Native Americans from a number of tribes in 1660 a small group of settlers requested land on Staten Island in 1661. Pieter (Pierre) Billiou from Flanders was among them, and the Billiou Stillwell Perrine House likely began construction some time between 1661 and 1663.
Additions to this house over the next 200 years make it a particularly interesting historic house to visit. At the time that Pierre Billou built his house, the land grant he received was so large, that he could see the Atlantic Ocean from the garden.
The Staten Island Historical Society continues to support the preservation of this house. https://www.historicrichmondtown.org/perinehouse
