Ellis Island public and the museum partially re-opened on October 28, 2013, after major renovations. Originally much of the west shore of Upper New York Bay consisted of large tidal flats which hosted vast oyster banks, a major source of food for the Lenape population who lived in the area prior to the arrival of Dutch settlers. There were several islands which were not completely submerged at high tide. Three of them (later to be known as Liberty Island, Black Tom Island and Ellis Island) were given the name Oyster Islands by the settlers of New Netherland, the first European colony in
Richmondtown, Staten Island Richmondtown, Staten Island Richmondtown is a neighborhood on Staten Island in New York City, New York, in the United States. Originally known as Coccles Town (sometimes misreckoned as Cuckolds Town) because of the abundance of oyster and clam shells found in the waters of the nearby Fresh Kills, Richmondtown gained its present name in 1728 when the village now preserved as Historic Richmond Town was founded. The village became the county seat of Richmond County (with which Staten Island is coterminous) and remained as such until the emergence of St. George soon after the ferries to Manhattan and Brooklyn began