MOMENTS IN STATEN ISLAND'S
BLACK HERITAGE

An exhibit at
The Alice Austen House Museum


Opening Oysters, by Alice Austen, 1894
From Moments in Staten Island's Black Heritage, Alice Austen House Museum. Photo courtesy of Alice Austen Collection, Staten Island Historical Society.


OPENING OYSTERS, by Alice Austen. Taken September 25, 1894, in Annapolis, Maryland. Freed men and women moved from Maryland and Virginia to settle on Staten Island. The oyster business was already well-established here, and migrating families came from the South bringing their skills, hoping they would find a better life in a slavery-free state. Photo courtesy of Alice Austen Collection, Staten Island Historical Society.


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Prepared by Kim DeCicco, for HST 594--Independent Study--Public History, with assistance from Professor Catherine Lavender, Department of History, The College of Staten Island/CUNY. Last updated: Monday 17 July 2000.