If you’ve been to New York, you’ve probably visited Central Park. But there’s a part of its story you won’t see.
It’s a story that goes back to the 1820s, when that part of New York was largely open countryside. Soon it became home to about 1,600 people. Among them was a predominantly black community that bought up affordable plots to build homes, churches and a school. It became known as Seneca Village. And when Irish and German immigrants moved in, it became a rare example at the time of an integrated neighborhood.
Everything changed on July 21, 1853. New York took control of the land to create what would become the first major landscaped park in the US — they called it “The Central Park.”
Seneca Village Community
Seneca Village Community
Seneca Village Community
Seneca Village Community
Seneca Village Community
Seneca Village Community
Seneca Village Community