Conference House Park, at the southern tip of Tottenville and of New York State, has a full week on its calendar. Between Sunday, November 8, and Saturday, November 14, the park's four historic buildings, its trails and its Raritan Bay shoreline host a free weekly 5K, an Urban Park Ranger hike, two Tottenville Historical Society exhibits, an America 250 exhibit on the 1776 peace conference and house tours of the colonial manor that gave the park its name. Almost all of it is free.

Everything below is listed by NYC Parks and its partners, the Conference House Association, the Tottenville Historical Society and the Conference House Park Conservancy. Most of it starts from the park's Visitor Center at 298 Satterlee Street, at the corner of Hylan Boulevard.

Sunday, Nov. 8: a free 5K at the end of the state

NYRR Open Run, the free weekly community 5K run by New York Road Runners, meets in Conference House Park every Sunday, with this week's run from 8:45 to 11 a.m. It is open to runners and walkers of every age and pace. The start is off Hylan Boulevard, beside the parking lot, on the path that leads down to the water. Sign-up is free through NYRR.

Tours of the house where the 1776 peace talks failed

The Conference House, also called the Billopp House, is a two-story fieldstone manor built around 1680 by Christopher Billopp, a Royal Navy captain and landowner. On September 11, 1776, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge of the Continental Congress met British Admiral Lord Howe here, at Howe's request, in the only peace conference of the American Revolution. No agreement came of it, and the war went on for seven more years.

The Conference House Association, which runs the house as a museum with NYC Parks and the Historic House Trust, offers docent-led tours on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., including Saturday, November 14. The suggested donation is $10 a person. The weekly tours continue through December 12.

Voices of 1776, in the Lenape Gallery

For the nation's 250th anniversary, the Conference House Association and NYC Parks have mounted Voices of 1776: The People and Events Surrounding the Historic Staten Island Peace Conference of the American Revolution in the Lenape Gallery of the park's Visitor Center. It is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., through December 31, and admission is free.

Tottenville's terra cotta, inside and out

Tottenville was once home to the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company, whose architectural ornament went onto buildings across New York City and the country. Two Tottenville Historical Society displays at the H.H. Biddle House, 70 Satterlee Street, tell that story:

  • Alice's Terracotta Garden is an outdoor, self-guided sculpture garden of antique ornament from the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company, on the west lawn of the Biddle House. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through December 31, free.
  • New York's Brick & Terra Cotta Industries, inside the house, collects terra cotta pieces and masonry bricks and traces the area's brick and terra cotta making. It is open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free. Parks asks visitors to register by email with Carmine Raimondi, the South Shore parks programs manager, at carmine.raimondi@parks.nyc.gov.

The South Shore's shipyards

Still Waters: Reflections of a Maritime Community covers the South Shore's maritime history, including the A.C. Brown & Sons Shipyard of Tottenville and the shoreline's recreational waterfront. It is in the Rutan-Becket House at 6 Shore Road, down the hill from the Biddle House, and is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. by appointment, through the same Parks email. Admission is free.

Saturday, Nov. 14: a fall hike with the Rangers

The Urban Park Rangers lead the free Falling for Nature Hike on Saturday, November 14, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., looking at how the park's plants and animals get ready for winter. It meets at the Visitor Center at Satterlee Street and Hylan Boulevard. No registration is needed.

Lend a hand on the beach

The Blue Wave cleanup, run by NYC Parks and the Conference House Park Conservancy, runs Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Drop in at the Visitor Center, borrow a bucket and a grabber, and work the beach and paths at your own pace. No RSVP is needed. Groups can arrange a session through the South Shore parks office at 646-406-2155.

Getting there

Conference House Park's Visitor Center is at 298 Satterlee Street, at Hylan Boulevard, beside the parking lot. The S59 and S78 buses stop nearby, and the Staten Island Railway's last stop, Tottenville, is a short walk away. The house tours and exhibits are inside historic buildings, so call the Conference House Association at 718-984-6046 with access questions before you go.

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