Willowbrook Park

The remains of a historic building can be found along the White Trail, which winds through Willowbrook Park’s forest. A lone chimney stands among the trees—all that remains of what was likely part of the mill on John J. Corson’s farm.

The Corsons (sometimes spelled Corsen) were one of Staten Island’s earliest settlers. The patriarch, Cornelius Corson, was born in Brooklyn and moved with his family to Staten Island. He is listed on two 1680 patents that granted him a substantial amount of land on the island. He served as justice of the peace and captain of the local militia before he died in 1693. His land stayed within the family for several generations. Accounts from the turn of the 20th century indicate that the chimney was part of a building that stood next to descendent John J. Corson’s “Great Wheel” along Corson’s Brook, a waterway that ran through the property and has since been filled in.