The first recorded European contact with Staten Island was in 1524 by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who in the employ of the French crown, sailed through The Narrows on the French ship La Dauphine and anchored for one night.
In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson sailing for the Dutch sailed into Upper New York Bay on his ship the Half Moon. Staaten Eylandt (literally "States Island") was named in honor of the Dutch parliament known as the Staten-Generaal.
In 1687 and 1688, the English divided the island into four administrative divisions based on natural features: the 5,100-acre manorial estate of colonial governor Thomas Dongan in the central hills known as the "Lordship or Manner of Cassiltown," along with the North, South, and West divisions. These divisions would later evolve into the four townships Castleton, Northfield, Southfield, and Westfield. In 1698, the population was 727.
The government granted land patents in rectangular blocks of eighty acres, with the most desirable lands along the coastline and inland waterways. By 1708, the entire island had been divided up in this fashion, creating 166 small farms and two large manorial estates, the Dongan estate and a 1600 acre parcel on the southwestern tip of the island belonging to Christopher Billop.
In 1729, a county seat was established at the village of Richmond Town, located at the headwaters of the Fresh Kills near the center of the island. By 1771, the island's population had grown to 2,847.
The towns and villages of Staten Island were dissolved in 1898 with the consolidation of the City of Greater New York, with Richmond as one of its five boroughs.
Today, Staten Island has a population of approximately 500,000 people and is the most suburban of the boroughs.
The North Shore — especially the neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, Clifton, and Stapleton — is the most urban part of the island; it contains the officially designated St. George Historic District and the St. Paul’s Avenue-Stapleton Heights Historic District, which feature large Victorian homes. The South Shore has more suburban-style residential neighborhoods. The East Shore (South Beach) is home to the 2.5-mile F.D.R. Boardwalk, the fourth-longest in the world.
A century ago, the central and southern sections of Staten Island were dominated by dairy and poulty farms, almost all of which disappeared in the 20th century.
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Staten Island has experienced building booms and lulls. The largest building booms occurred in the 1890's and the 1950's, which lasted into the late 1980's. Most of the farmland that once occupied most of Staten Island was quickly being bought by notable developers such as Erastus Wiman and Fred Trump. Erastus Wiman is responsible for much of the development of the South Shore areas from Arden Heights to Rossville constructing 1000's of homes. Fred Trump, father of Donald Trump, constructed and operated more than 8,000 housing units in Staten Island from the 1950's into the 1980's.
The Staten Island real estate development scene in 2012 is a stark contrast to the dairy and poultry farms from a century ago. More recently, many smaller tracts of land have been developed by builders such as Dora Homes, Guido Passarelli & Sons, and Masucci Developers, LLC, all responsible for building 1000's of quality homes throughout Staten Island.
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