Seneca Village Site

The Seneca Village Site marks the location of a thriving African American community that was destroyed in 1857 to make way for the construction of Central Park. The village, established in 1825, was home to approximately 264 residents, three churches, and a school.

Seneca Village was one of the most significant African American communities in pre-Civil War Manhattan. Two-thirds of its residents were Black, and many were property owners, a remarkable achievement in an era when property ownership was a requirement for Black men to vote in New York.

The destruction of Seneca Village through eminent domain was justified by contemporary newspapers that described the residents as squatters living in shanties, a characterization contradicted by historical records showing established property owners, taxpayers, and institutions.

Archaeological excavations by Columbia University and the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village have uncovered foundations, artifacts, and evidence of the community's prosperity, challenging the narrative used to justify its demolition.

The Seneca Village Site forces visitors to reckon with the uncomfortable truth that Central Park, the most beloved public space in America, was built on the ruins of a destroyed Black community whose residents were displaced so that wealthy white New Yorkers could have a park.