Staten Island's 1712 Episcopal church served as a British troop hospital during the Revolution; two NJ militia raids were fought here at gunpoint, destroying the windows.
40 Old Mill Road, Staten Island, NY 10306
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Church grounds and exterior are publicly accessible; interior open for services and by appointment.
Access
Limited Access
Sloped churchyard with uneven stone paths and historic grave markers
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1712 · One of oldest active Episcopal parishes in New York City (est. 1705) · Royal charter from Queen Anne, 1712 · British barracks and hospital during Staten Island occupation (1776–1783) · Two Revolutionary War skirmishes fought in the churchyard · Birthplace of first American Episcopal bishop (Samuel Seabury, served here 1777–1780) · Colonial graves discovered beneath floor during 1980s restoration
The Church of St. Andrew in Staten Island's Richmondtown is one of the oldest active Episcopal parishes in New York City. The Reverend Aeneas Mackenzie arrived on Staten Island in 1705, the congregation formed shortly after, and the first church structure was built between 1708 and 1712, receiving a royal charter from Queen Anne. The parish produced two notable bishops: Samuel Seabury, who served at St. Andrew's from 1777 to 1780 and later became the first American bishop of the Episcopal Church, and Channing Moore, who left for Virginia in 1808 and became that diocese's second bishop.
The Revolutionary War period was the most destructive in the church's early history. When the British occupied Staten Island in August 1776, Lord Howe's troops camped on the church grounds and the building itself was converted to a barracks and hospital. Hessian auxiliaries were among the troops quartered there. Patriot militias from New Jersey raided Richmondtown on at least two occasions; during one raid, the militia fired directly at the building, destroying all the windows and causing significant structural damage. The inside of the church was described in contemporary accounts as completely destroyed by the occupation period's end in 1783.
The congregation rebuilt but the structure again sustained fire damage; the current building was constructed in 1872 in Victorian Norman-Gothic style following a fire in 1867. During an interior restoration in the late 1980s, workers discovered colonial-era graves beneath the church floor — physical evidence of the building's continuous occupation since the early 18th century. The church celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008.
Sources
St. Andrew's Church appeared in an episode of Syfy's Ghost Hunters, one of the few institutional validations the site has received beyond local legend. The reported phenomena fall into several categories. Disembodied footsteps — including in an otherwise empty building — and a self-playing organ are the most consistently cited claims across multiple Staten Island paranormal aggregators and the New York Haunted Houses database.
A phantom drumbeat tradition is tied to the Revolutionary War occupation: the story involves a drummer boy who died during the British garrison period, whose rhythmic presence is occasionally reported in or near the churchyard. The figure is never named and there is no documentary record of a specific drummer boy fatality at this location — the claim appears to be oral tradition attached to the building's documented war use rather than a record of a specific individual. The site's use as a military hospital during a seven-year occupation, with documented interior destruction, provides the historical grounding for the haunting narrative.
Visitors to the churchyard have also reported seeing an apparition in period clothing that vanishes when approached. The late 1980s discovery of colonial-era burials beneath the floor added a new dimension to the site's reputation — the graves were not known to parishioners before the restoration, and their presence in the floor of an active church made an impression on local ghost-tour narrators.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Walk the historic churchyard, where colonial-era graves were discovered beneath the church floor during an interior restoration in the late 1980s. The 1872 Gothic Revival building replaced a structure destroyed by fire in 1867; the original 1712 church was heavily damaged during the British occupation (1776–1783). The site is included in Staten Island ghost tour circuits.
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