19 Facts About Seneca Village

1.

Seneca Village was a 19th-century settlement of mostly African American landowners in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, within what would become present-day Central Park.

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2.

Seneca Village was founded in 1825 by free Black Americans, the first such community in the city, although under Dutch rule there was a "half-free" community of African-owned farms north of New Amsterdam.

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3.

Seneca Village existed until 1857, when, through eminent domain, the villagers and other settlers in the area were ordered to leave and their houses were torn down for the construction of Central Park.

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4.

Several vestiges of Seneca Village's existence have been found over the years, including two graves and a burial plot.

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5.

Origin of Seneca Village's name is obscure, and was only recorded by Thomas McClure Peters, rector of St Michael's Episcopal Church; however, a number of theories have been advanced.

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6.

Seneca Village was in the city's 19th Ward, and was sometimes associated with Yorkville.

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7.

Seneca Village provided a safe haven during the anti-abolitionist riot of 1834.

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8.

Later, during the Great Famine of Ireland, many Irish immigrants came to live in Seneca Village, swelling the village's population by 30 percent during this time.

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9.

Many African-Americans owned property in Seneca Village but lived downtown, perhaps seeing it as an investment.

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10.

Economic and cultural stability of Seneca Village enabled the growth of several community institutions.

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11.

The Seneca Village congregation was known as the AME Zion Branch Militant from 1848.

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12.

The residents of Seneca Village were accused of stealing food and operating illegal bars.

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13.

The only institution from Seneca Village to survive was All Angels' Church, which relocated a couple of blocks away, albeit with an entirely new congregation except for one person.

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14.

Seneca Village's absence was felt during the 1863 New York City draft riots, when it could not provide the refuge it did in 1834; instead, some fled to Weeksville, Brooklyn.

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15.

Public interest in Seneca Village was invigorated after the publication of Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar's 1992 book The Park and the People: A History of Central Park, which described the community extensively.

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16.

Historical example of Seneca Village has been cited in the context of racialized community displacement and more recent urban renewal initiatives.

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17.

Seneca Village Project was formed in 1998 as a collaboration between Cynthia Copeland of the New-York Historical Society, Nan Rothschild of Barnard College, and Diana Wall of City College of New York, and was later organized under the non-profit Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History.

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18.

Also in 2019, the outdoor exhibit "Discover Seneca Village" opened with temporary historical markers at points across the Seneca Village landscape of Central Park.

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19.

In 2020, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission launched an online exhibit, Seneca Village Unearthed, with around 300 artifacts from the 2011 excavation.

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