STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – He couldn’t move mountains, but he came close to it on an October morning in 1987.

When a developer planned to demolish a 19th-century farmhouse in Greenridge to make way for 900 townhomes, Barnett Shepherd jumped into action. As executive director of Historic Richmond Town, he arranged to acquire the house for $20,000 and move it to the historic village.

Permits were secured, streets were closed, trees were trimmed and utilities were disconnected for the 2.5-mile move of the Jacob-Crocheron House to its current safe haven on Richmond Road.

That same conviction would save countless other historic sites under Mr. Shepherd’s watch as Staten Island’s premiere preservationist, historian and visionary. His death on August 6 at the age of 87 highlighted his work to safeg

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