Saturday, Oct. 24, is a long day at Conference House Park at the southern tip of Staten Island. It opens with a free Haunted Trail at the Biddle House at noon and ends with a free outdoor screening of Scooby-Doo on the Great Lawn at dusk. In between, the park's historic houses are open, with exhibits on Tottenville's brick and terra cotta works, its shipyards and 1776.

Conference House Haunted Trail

From noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, NYC Parks and Staten Island Recreation run a Halloween afternoon at the H.H. Biddle House, 70 Satterlee Street: pumpkin decorating, Halloween crafts, a talk on the site's haunted history and a walk along a haunted trail. It is free, with no registration.

Movie Under the Stars: Scooby-Doo

That evening, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., NYC Parks and the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment screen Scooby-Doo (2002, rated PG) on the Great Lawn. The film starts at dusk. It is free; glass bottles and alcohol are not allowed, and the screening may be canceled in bad weather.

Tour the Conference House

Docents lead tours of the Conference House, also called the Billopp House, on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25, from noon to 4 p.m., for a $10 donation. Christopher Billopp built the fieldstone house around 1680. On Sept. 11, 1776, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge met Lord Howe there for the only peace conference of the Revolutionary War.

Three free exhibits

  • New York's Brick and Terra Cotta Industries, inside the Biddle House, Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., through Dec. 31. NYC Parks and the Tottenville Historical Society show terra cotta pieces and masonry bricks in turn-of-the-century styles, including work from Tottenville's former Atlantic Terra Cotta Company. Outside on the west lawn, Alice's Terracotta Garden displays antique Atlantic Terra Cotta ornaments daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Still Waters: Reflections of a Maritime Community, at the Rutan-Becket House, 6 Shore Road, Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., by chance or appointment. It covers South Shore maritime history, including Tottenville's A.C. Brown Sons Shipyard.
  • Voices of 1776, in the Lenape Gallery at the Visitor Center, 298 Satterlee Street, Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., through Dec. 31. It marks America's 250th with the story of the 1776 Staten Island Peace Conference.

Run or volunteer

New York Road Runners holds a free Open Run 5K in the park on Sunday, Oct. 25, from 8:45 to 11 a.m., for runners and walkers who sign up in advance. Blue Wave volunteer shoreline sessions meet at the Conference House Museum Tuesday through Friday, Oct. 20 to 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Getting there

The S59 and S78 buses serve the park, and the Staten Island Railway's last stop, Tottenville, is a short walk away.

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