Do you want to know how Kissam Avenue on Staten Island got its name? In this post, find out a bit of history about this unique road.
Kissam Avenue is a small road and had never been especially well-known outside of the communities of Staten Island. However, after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, all of the homes on this street experienced flooding, some severe, and lives were lost.
Where is Kissam Ave located?
Kissam Avenue is a short road, measuring less than 2000 feet long, that extends from a marshy beach area near the shore of New York Bay to its intersection with Mill Rd. It is in the Staten Island neighborhood of Oakwood.
How old is Kissam Avenue?
We know that the road is more than 105 years old, since it was listed on an old map of Staten Island from 1917. The image below shows lots on Kissam Avenue, which look interesting compared to the larger neighboring properties.
Most maps prior to the early 1900s do not show many streets in this area, and show it as a marsh. This include topographical maps of Staten Island from 1911, and the J. B. Beers & Co. map published in 1874.
Towards the beginning of the 1900s, development began on the east shore of Staten Island, and small homes lined both sides of Kissam Avenue all the way from Mill Rd to the beach on the bay. These homes were occupied by both vacationers and permanent residents.
It’s immediately obvious why people loved to be on Kissam Avenue. Nature, wildlife, water views, and beaches, with the conveniences of living in New York City.
Who is Kissam Avenue Named After?
Kissam Avenue may have been named after William Kissam Vanderbilt, son of Staten Island residents Maria Louise Kissam and William H. Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was the eldest son and primary heir of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the famous American business magnate.
William Kissam Vanderbilt was born in New Dorp, Staten Island, a neighborhood only blocks away from the property that eventually became Kissam Avenue. The property and farm where the Vanderbilts lived during the time around the younger Vanderbilt’s birth was located at what is now Miller Field.
Is Kissam Avenue State Island’s loneliest street?
The Kissam Avenue neighborhood has been selected as an area where a “managed retreat” is the most appropriate way to avoid more loss of life and property as severe storms, such as Hurricane Sandy, become more common. This means that Kissam Avenue is, essentially, gradually being “returned to nature”.
The marsh now be allowed to return to Kissam Avenue, which will hopefully help provide protection from flooding for neighboring communities.
As best as the author of this article could determine, there are still a few people living on Kissam Avenue, but most of the homes have been purchased and removed by the federal government. Today, the road looks eerie because you can still see evidence that it was a neighborhood (i.e. utility poles and lines), but nature is clearly taking over.
It appears as if Kissam Avenue will not be home to many people for much longer, but it is good to document the road’s history. This neighborhood was a wonderful home to many people for many years, and it provided a lot of happy memories to those who grew up or vacationed there.
Conclusion
I hope that you found this article about Kissam Avenue on Staten Island interesting, and that you learned a bit of history about the location.
If you have any questions about something you read here, or if you would like to leave a comment with a bit of Kissam Avenue history, please join in the discussion below.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Sources:
Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1917). Plate 19, Part of Ward 4 [Map bound by Oak Ave, Mill Road, Kissam Ave, Lower New York Bay, Brook Ave, Mill Pond, South Side Boulevard] Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-916e-d471-e040-e00a180654d7
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