Ever wonder where the oldest freed black settlement in the nation with the descendants of the original settlers still living there (and running the town’s historical society) is? Undoubtedly, such a place would be an amazing place to learn some history, especially the history of free blacks from our nation’s birth through the Civil War—a part of the American story that is often overlooked or barely mentioned in the classroom.

Although the majority of former slaves we learn about in school were either freed in their master’s will (think George Washington), or escaped up North via the Underground Railroad (think Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth), freedmen have been a part of our history since even before the country’s inception. The first freed blacks to permanently settle in what would become the U.S. did so along with the first Europeans to permanently settle in what would become the U.S.—at Jamestown in 1619, although laws quickly evolved to deny them their freedom and establish the practice of slavery in the settlement.

One example: you probably know that Washington’s Continental Army was pretty poorly equipped and low in numbers, especially after Valley Forge. But did you know that almost a third of the Continental Army was composed of freed African American men? This is the history that you find about at Sandy Ground, the history of African Americans and freedmen and especially the unique history of freedmen in Sandy Ground.

Formerly known as Little Africa and Harrisville before sticking with the name of Sandy Ground, the community was established just inland from the south shore of Staten Island in the early 1800s by newly freed slaves from the metropolitan area. ( New York abolished slavery from 1804-1827 and New Jersey did the same in 1804. Pennsylvania had already abolished slavery by then and Rhode Island and Connecticut had already both abolished slavery in 1784.) It was named Harrisville after brothers Moses K. and Silas K. Harris, who first settled the area and introduced strawberries to Staten Island (which by the way are still a cash crop for the island). Starting out as a small farming community, the town eventually grew to include its own blacksmith, midwives, and basket makers.

At the same time, Virginia and Maryland passed laws severely crippling the ability of their freed black population to partake in the states’ oyster businesses. Some of these freedmen came to Sandy Ground, where the oyster business augmented an already self-sufficient farming community. At its peak the community supported 150 families and two churches, one of which, the A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Zion Church, still serves as a home away from home for families who have recently left the community but return every Sunday for the local service. The church and the community, by the way, served as a major stop on the Underground Railroad.

The community was particularly unusual in that it was not only self-sustaining but that members of the community owned, not rented, their land and so qualified under property requirements to vote. Neighboring abolitionist settlements were especially helpful because they would often divide up individual properties and sell them in small portions so that each member of a family would own a small part of the family property and thus be eligible to vote.

Okay, so by now you’ve decided that you’ve got to visit Sandy Ground to do some research. What can you expect when you get there? Well, you’ll find the Sandy Ground Historical Society in a small house on Woodrow near its intersection with Bloomingdale. As you walk up to the house you’ll notice large, yellow, rather odd-looking signs that display some of the oldest and most prominent surnames in Sandy Ground’s history. Jot a few of them down; a family history of one of those names could be an interesting project. (Hint. Hint.) As you move inside the small front room, you’ll see a brief history of Sandy Ground provided by text panels, real oyster shells, pictures and a Sandy Ground tradition, a huge quilt with panels depicting the local oyster fishermen at work that offers a unique illustration of the community’s past.

A changing exhibit covers the long hallway just behind the Sandy Ground Room and snakes into a small back room, where you’ll also find a glass cabinet that contains some pretty cool artifacts. The cabinet displays belongings from different residents of Sandy Ground, including a pair of women’s shoes imported from England and several handkerchiefs collected from different countries by another town resident she visited as she traveled the globe. Most possessions that African Americans had were of poor quality and perhaps not technically even their own (slaves’ possessions, like the slaves themselves, belonged ultimately to the master). These Sandy Ground residents, however, were able to afford material comforts on par with their white neighbors.

Whatever the temporary exhibit is, look at it. At the time I visited, it was blown-up selections from The Reverend Henry Highland Garnet’s Memorial Discourse, a book that includes his speech to Congress on February 12, 1865, commemorating New York State’s abolition of slavery (he was the first black man to speak in front of Congress). It also recounts his family’s escape from slavery and his new life in New York as a freedman.

A nearby glass-encased table displays the first edition of Frederick Douglass’ My Bondage, My Freedom as well as a palm card advertising Booker T. Washington’s Builder of Civilization. The contents of the case change, but they always include fascinating stuff. Possible future exhibits include some of Madame C.J. Walker’s products (this self-made hair-care entrepreneur was also a famous philanthropist and political activist) and old copies of Jet and Crisis magazines. (Crisis is the magazine of the NAACP.) In the last room, you can sit and watch a short video about the history of Sandy Ground. Be sure to look at the Hammon Collection, a series of photographs, mostly portraits, that display family members as well as elegant dresses, jewelry, houses and cars—again, personal possessions not found in most African American communities at the turn of the 20th century.

Biographies of several people important to the Sandy Ground community throughout its years are scattered throughout the house. For example, an entire wall is dedicated to Joseph Bishop, a fixture in the small town until his recent death. A member of the U.S. Army during WWII, a commander of the American Legion in Tottenville, and a Red Cross volunteer, Bishop was also the president and founder of the George Washington Carver Club, a local group that addressed the social needs of the community. He was also a founder and the only black member of the Staten Island Democratic Association, and even helped build an interracial playground at Bloomingdale Road and Crabtree Avenue.

But he was perhaps best known as the town blacksmith, whose shop, started by his father, William Bishop, in 1888, was in continuous service until 1992. In that year, the priceless landmark was mysteriously burnt down at a time when developers were trying to buy out Bishop and other community members. Devastated by the destruction of his shop, Bishop never rebuilt it, but he did donate the site to the Sandy Ground Historical Society, which hopes to someday use the site, along with other sites that have since been donated to them, as another educational resource to preserve and teach the town’s history.

Unfortunately, you can’t just show up at the house expecting to do research, though when the place is open you can always check out its exhibits. You need to plan at least two weeks in advance. Start by seeing if your local library has A Catalogue Guide to the Archives of the Sandy Ground Historical Society Library and Museum, in which every holding of the Society is catalogued and briefly described. Once you know which pieces of information you’d like to see and your general topic, write a letter to the Society. Within about two weeks the staff will get in contact with you and set up an appointment so that you can view the documents, and possibly other related ones. They have everything from rare books to a bill of sale for a 12-year-old Staten Island slave girl, daguerreotypes, tintypes, quilts, newspapers, birth certificates, and tons of interviews and oral histories of community members. And don’t forget about the Underground Railroad. Several old tunnels still exist in town (and when slavery still existed in the South, the oystermen’s boats were often searched for runaways.)

When you call the Society to plan a visit, you should also ask about their programs. Although small, they do run several tours, arts and crafts workshops, a quilt workshop, and a musical heritage series. Just one last work of advice: make sure the Society is open when you visit. Although it’s worth the trek, it’s quite a trek. You might consider coordinating a visit to Sandy Ground with one to Historic Richmond Town. They’re on the same bus route and are only about 20 minutes apart—from each other, that is. (They’ve both got to be more like two hours apart from everything else in the universe.)