Prohibition Park, also called National Prohibition Park, was a temperance town and park used as a

summer colony Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, precursor to the modern

Westerleigh Westerleigh is a clustered village in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath (which includes Henfield) in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, it contains sources of the Frome a ...

neighborhood. The park and community were founded after the purchase of the land in 1887 by members of the National Prohibition Party (serving as the party's headquarters) during a

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

prior to Federal prohibition in the United States, with the specification that no consumption of

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

would be permitted in the area. At its peak the park had extended nearly 150 acres, but declined in the 1900s along with the temperance movement, with much of the land sold to non-movement members. The remaining parkland was obtained by the City in 1907, surviving as Westerleigh Park and Northerleigh Park operated by the

New York City Parks Department The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

History

The area of Prohibition Park and modern Westerleigh began as part of the 5,100 acres estate of

Thomas Dongan Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715) was an Irish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1683 to 1688. He called the first representative legislature in the Province o ...

Colonial Governor of New York The territory which would later become the state of New York was settled by European colonists as part of the New Netherland colony (parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware) under the command of the Dutch West India C ...

under British rule, purchased in 1683. The land was purchased in 1848 by New York politician

John Vanderbilt John Vanderbilt (January 28, 1819 – May 16, 1877) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was the son of John Vanderbilt (1794–1842) and Sarah Lott (1795–1859). He was baptised on February 21 at the Flatbush Reformed Du ...

. Between and of land were purchased from Vanderbilt's daughter in 1887 by Christopher S. Williams and Manhattan Methodist pastor William H. Boole on behalf of the National Prohibition Party. The party intended on founding a reclusive summer retreat in response to apparent widespread crime and blight in the city attributed to alcohol consumption. The park was opened on July 4, 1888, and was operated by the National Prohibition Campground Association (later the National Prohibition Park Company). In its first year of existence, 60,000 people visited the park. A 4000-seat auditorium called University Temple opened in 1891. By 1897, the park had grown to in size, with a yearly attendance of 200,000. The park consisted of

campground Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

, a picnic grove, tennis courts, ball fields, horse stables and other recreational facilities. Visitors would stay in tents anchored to wooden platforms. Any open lots not used for campsites were used for development, giving way to permanent buildings including a bowling alley, a large hotel called the Park Hotel, and several small hotels. Events at the park included temperance rallies, religious and temperance meetings, educational lectures, and

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

entertainment. The park was served by a surface trolley line (operated by the Port Richmond and Prohibition Park Electric Railway Company) on Jewett Avenue beginning in 1892, originating in Port Richmond. This would connect to ferries in the northern shore of Port Richmond, or the

Staten Island Railway The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit, railroad line in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropol ...

North Shore Branch The North Shore Branch is a partially abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore, Staten Island, North Shore from St. George, Staten Island, Saint George to Port Ivory, Staten ...

and additional trolley service towards

Saint George Terminal St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Hal ...

Residential development

In 1892, the area began transitioning into a permanent residential community. Over 1,000 building sites were created, each with a deed prohibiting the use, manufacture, or sale of liquor. Single-family homes in Victorian, Dutch, and English stylings were constructed. Streets were constructed in the neighborhood, named after prominent Prohibition figures. The Westerleigh Collegiate Association, a private school which offered education from Kindergarten to college, opened in 1895. Initially selling only to fellow temperance followers, in the 1900s the Park Company began selling lots to non-members of the movement. This, along with declining park attendance, and the destruction of the University Temple and Westerleigh Collegiate in 1903 due to separate fires, led to the decline of Prohibition Park. The community was renamed Westerleigh, and the remaining undeveloped parkland was acquired by

in 1907.

Residents

* William H. Boole, a park trustee and juryman who died there in 1896.

References

{{Reflist Geography of Staten Island Temperance movement History of Staten Island