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The Kruser-Finley House, built in 1790 in the Egbertville section of Staten Island, was gutted by a fire Wednesday afternoon. The building is part of the Historic Richmondtown complex, where many regional reenactors may recall the long-running CW event.
The building, which was moved to HRT from its original location, served as the "Harness Maker's Shop" for many years, and was where the legendary Chris Schreiber operated. Sadly, some of Chris' work, some raw materials, and his tools were still kept inside, and were all lost. A c. 1810 table, which had been salvaged from the nearby "Basketmaker's House" during Hurricane Sandy and moved to the Kruser-Finley was saved.
A few witnesses saw a group of older teens hanging out in the area at the time of the fire; an adjacent structure has been burglarized twice this summer by kids looking for a party spot. No arrests have yet been made; the eventual fate of the house is undetermined, though it seems that the frame of the building is essentially intact.
Youths set fire to two buildings on the complex in the 1940s, but other than a few instances of cars running off the road into houses and broken windows, there have been remarkably few catastrophic events like this.
The building, which was moved to HRT from its original location, served as the "Harness Maker's Shop" for many years, and was where the legendary Chris Schreiber operated. Sadly, some of Chris' work, some raw materials, and his tools were still kept inside, and were all lost. A c. 1810 table, which had been salvaged from the nearby "Basketmaker's House" during Hurricane Sandy and moved to the Kruser-Finley was saved.
A few witnesses saw a group of older teens hanging out in the area at the time of the fire; an adjacent structure has been burglarized twice this summer by kids looking for a party spot. No arrests have yet been made; the eventual fate of the house is undetermined, though it seems that the frame of the building is essentially intact.
Youths set fire to two buildings on the complex in the 1940s, but other than a few instances of cars running off the road into houses and broken windows, there have been remarkably few catastrophic events like this.