Seneca Village

Seneca Village was a small village on the island of Manhattan, New York founded by free blacks in 1825. The village was the first significant community of African American property owners on Manhattan, and also came to be inhabited by several other minorities, including Irish and German immigrants, and perhaps Native Americans as well. The village was located on about five acres between where 82nd and 89th Streets and 7th and 8th Avenues would now intersect, an area now covered by Central Park.

In 1855, a New York State Census found that Seneca Village had 264 residents. [cite web|url=http://projects.ilt.columbia.edu/seneca/frame.html |title=Seneca Village |publisher=The New York Historical Society |accessdate=2006-05-15] The village had three churches, a school, and several cemeteries. [cite news|title=The Price of Progress: Eminent domain can lead to pain as well as advancement |publisher=New York Daily News |author=Shipp, E.R. |date=2005, August 21] . At this time in New York City's history, most of the city's population lived below 14th Street, and the region above 59th Street was only sporadically developed and was semi-rural or rural in character.

As the campaign to create Central Park moved forward park advocates and the media began to describe Seneca Village and other communities in this area as "shantytowns" and the residents there as "squatters". While members of the community fought to retain their land [cite web|url=http://projects.ilt.columbia.edu/seneca/affidavit3.html |title=William's Affidavit |publisher=The New York Historical Society |accessdate=2006-05-15] in the summer of 1856 they were given final notice. In 1857, all private property within Seneca Village was acquired by the city government through eminent domain, for the purpose of constructing Central Park. The village was razed for park construction. In August 2005, the buried remains of the village were the subject of archaeological investigation. [cite news|title=Clues Sought in Pre-Central Park Village |publisher=Associated Press |date=2005, August 22 |author=Pyle, Richard]

References

Other references

* Killcoyne, Hope (author) and Majno, Mary Lee (illustrator). "The Lost Village of Central Park." New York: Silver Moon Press, 1999.
* Rosenzweig, Roy and Blackmar, Elizabeth. "The Park and the People: A History of Central Park." Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1992.