Seneca Village

Seneca Village was a significant 19th-century settlement of mostly African American landowners in Manhattan, located within what is now Central Park.A white farmer named John Whitehead, who purchased his property in 1824. One year later, he began selling off smaller lots from his property. It grew into a thriving community with around 225 residents, including Black Americans, Irish, and German immigrants. The village had homes, three churches, two schools, and three cemeteries. It was a place of early Black landownership and community life before being demolished in the 1850s to make way for the creation of Central Park. Its history is a poignant reminder of early urban displacement.

The community was destroyed to make way for Central Park under eminent domain. Over 200 residents, including landowners, were displaced.

Today, signs and exhibits in Central Park commemorate the settlement's history and its importance.

Despite being largely forgotten, its legacy was revived through Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar's 1992 book The Park and the People, leading to archaeological excavations and the formation of the Seneca Village Project.