Conference House Park

Conference House Park is a 267-acre park at the southernmost tip of Staten Island in Tottenville, the southernmost point in New York State. The park takes its name from the Conference House (also known as the Billopp House), a 17th-century manor house where a failed peace conference between American representatives and British Admiral Lord Howe took place on September 11, 1776.

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge represented the Continental Congress at the conference, which was Lord Howe's attempt to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the rebellion. The Americans insisted on recognition of independence, which Howe was not authorized to grant, and the conference ended without agreement. The war continued for seven more years.

The Conference House, built around 1680 by Captain Christopher Billopp, is one of the oldest surviving buildings in New York City and is a National Historic Landmark. The house is open for tours and interprets both its colonial history and the significance of the 1776 peace conference.

Beyond the historic house, the park encompasses extensive natural areas including shoreline, forest, meadows, and wetlands along the Arthur Kill waterway. The park's location at the southern tip of the island provides views across Raritan Bay to New Jersey and the open Atlantic.

Conference House Park connects visitors to one of the most consequential moments in the American Revolution: the last attempt at peace before the war's devastating continuation. The park's combination of Revolutionary War history, colonial architecture, and spectacular natural setting makes it one of the most significant historic parks in the entire city.