In 1825, before the civil war and the emancipation proclamation, a 25-year-old black man named Andrew Williams bought land in the middle of Manhattan.
The area was countryside at the time and offered a reprieve from the overcrowded and often dangerous city life of lower Manhattan. Two years later when an end to slavery was announced, more black families followed Williams to the islands lush countryside.
And thus Seneca Village was born, a community ahead of its time, and one that time almost forgot…almost….
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Sources:
https://www.centralparknyc.org/articles/seneca-village
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uncovering-the-history-of-seneca-village-in-new-york-city/
https://www.nps.gov/articles/seneca-village-new-york-city.htm
https://blackthen.com/seneca-village-the-black-community-that-was-destroyed-to-create-central-park/
