Willowbrook was, apparently, part of the heartland of the Staten Island farming district. It was well watered by the stream of the same name that ran through it. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and Chrampanis Farms are remnants of the Greek farming community. Immanuel Lutheran lingers from the German farmers long gone to New Jersey and points unknown.
573 Watchogue Road, May 1932
Same place, today
Aerial view, 1924
That little pink splotch is the house and all the patchwork quilt around it is farmed land. It shows up, unnamed, on the 1874 maps but I have no idea how old it is. I would guess early 19th century but that is only a guess. The farm appears to be carved out of a much larger piece of property belonging to the De Puy family, presumably one of the old Dutch families.
Now, except for the odd placement of the side windows (which, I know, you can't see in the modern picture), you'd probably never suspect how out of time the house really is. Under that siding is probably nearly two hundred year old wood shingle. Very cool.
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