A Staten Island History Trip: 1776 Peace Talks and an 1890 Bar
Two stops at the southern tip of New York City, linked by a ten-minute taxi. On September 11, 1776, three delegates spent three hours with Lord Howe and refused to withdraw the Declaration; the war went on. The Staten Island Ferry is free, the Staten Island Railway is three dollars, the bus back is three more, and an 1890 mahogany bar waits up Arthur Kill Road.
Conference House to Killmeyer's Old Bavaria Inn
🚢 Free ferry, then the railway
On September 11, 1776, three delegates met Lord Howe here for three hours; he wanted the Declaration withdrawn, they had no authority to do it, and the talks failed. The war ran seven more years. The house closes at 4:00 PM and is about ninety minutes from Whitehall. The Staten Island Ferry is free and takes twenty five minutes to St George; the Staten Island Railway then runs forty two minutes to Tottenville every half hour, and the station is fifteen minutes on foot. Tours are listed for Saturdays and Sundays from April 11, 2026, and the ticketed season runs to December 12. Hours are noon to 4:00 PM, ten dollars a person and eleven with the fee. Not every Sunday has tickets on sale; check the ticket calendar, and ten guests fill a slot.
🍺 Schnitzel and an 1890 bar
A short taxi ride, about ten minutes, covers the three miles north, 4.9 kilometers; no single bus links the park to this stretch of Arthur Kill Road and the shoulder is no place to walk. The 1890 mahogany bar is still in place, filling the front room: Kreischer sold the property to Nicolas Killmeyer around 1855, and the next generation added the upstairs hotel and commissioned the bar. Dark wood, a Spaten sign over the shelves, steins along the counter. The kitchen runs noon to 9:00 PM Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, to 10:00 PM Friday and Saturday. Mondays stay shut. The S74 stops across the street and needs just over an hour to St George.
🚉 Run the day as one loop
Ferry, railway, house, Ward's Point, taxi, tavern, bus, ferry. The order matters: the museum opens only on weekend afternoons and the tavern is dark on Monday. The park and Ward's Point stay open all year; only the house shuts for winter. The 10:30 boat from Whitehall docks at 10:55, and the 11:06 train puts you at the door a little after noon. A ride on the Staten Island Railway costs three dollars, paid at the St George turnstiles; the ferry is free, the S74 back costs another three, and the taxi is a separate fare.
