Barrett Triangle

Hyatt St., Bay St., Stuyvesant Pl. and Richmond Ter.

Staten Island

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

Major Clarence Tynan Barrett (1840–1906), part of a prominent Staten Island family, distinguished himself through careers in landscape architecture, sanitation engineering, and the military. A descendant of early immigrants to the American colony, Barrett’s great-great-grandfather, Colonel James Barrett, defended Concord, Massachusetts against British troops during the Revolutionary War. Born across the river in Rahway, New Jersey, Barrett’s parents settled in Richmond County when he was young.

Barrett studied landscape architecture until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he signed with the 175th New York Volunteers regiment. He worked his way up through the ranks and was eventually promoted to captain and aide-de-camp of the United States Volunteers. He earned the rank of Major after serving gallantly during the Union siege of Mobile, Alabama.