Quilt Honors Staten Island’s Historic African American Community

October 28, 2009 6:10 PM

Washington, DC - Today, Rep. Michael E. McMahon met with twelve quilters from the Sandy Ground Historical Society, who presented him with their historic Strawberry Quilt.  The Strawberry Quilt, commemorating the long history of African Americans on Staten Island, was hung this afternoon in Rep. McMahon’s Washington, DC office in the Cannon House Office Building.

“I am so honored that the Sandy Ground Historical Society has loaned me their beautiful quilt to display in my Washington office,” said Rep. McMahon.  “I have made it a point of pride that my offices in New York and Washington reflect the diversity of our Congressional district through the issues I promote and the art I display.  Most Congressional offices are decorated with pictures or mementos from their district, and this quilt will make a wonderful addition to mine.  The Sandy Ground Historical Society preserves the memory of one of Staten Island’s richest histories and I thank them for thinking of me to house one of their famous quilts.”

In attendance today from the Sandy Ground Historical Society were:
Barbara Christopher, Mildred Clark, Sylvia D’Alessandro, Lorraine Hite, Dawn Raner Onia Sims, Ivy Smith, Susie Smith, Alpha Pearl Williams, Joyce Yarbrough, Djamillah Samad, Pamela Thompson, and Phyllis Walker. 

About Sandy Ground:

After slavery was abolished in the State of New York in 1827, freedmen from all over the state, as well as from states such as Maryland and Virginia, settled in the area known since colonial times as Sandy Ground, which is now around the intersection of Bloomingdale and Woodrow Roads in Rossville.

Two brothers named Moses and Silas Harris bought property in Sandy Ground around 1850 with the intention of farming on it.  Upon inspection of the land, they noted that the soil was sandy but could still be used to grow strawberries.  They became so successful at growing strawberries that the town was first called “Harrisville.”   Today there is a street in the Sandy Ground community called Harris Lane, named after the Harris Brothers.  Wild strawberries still grow on the few open plots of land that are left in the area.

Sandy Ground also served as an important stop on the Underground Railroad, and is the oldest continuously settled free black community in the United States.
Although remnants of the original settlement still exist, most of the original houses were destroyed in the Rossville Fire of 1963. The Sandy Ground Historical Society, which preserves the history and physical surroundings of the Sandy Ground community and maintains a museum and library, was organized on February 28, 1980.

About the Quilt:

The Sandy Ground Historical Society sponsors a Quilt group that has created quilts for the organization with the goal of creating a traveling quilt exhibit that will reflect the history of Sandy Ground.  To date, the quilters have completed four quilts that represent different aspects of the history of Sandy Ground.

This Quilt was created in honor of the strawberry farmers who took sandy soil and converted it into a successful business venture.   The quilt was designed and assembled by Phyllis Walker.   The squares of the quilt were produced by Barbara Christopher, Mildred Clark, Sylvia D’Alessandro, Lorraine Hite, Dawn Raner Onia Sims, Ivy Smith, Susie Smith, Alpha Pearl Williams, and  Joyce Yarbrough, under the direction of  Djamillah Samad and Pamela Thompson.