by Cyril Josh Barker January 31, 2019
Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, receiving approximately 37.5 million visitors annually. However, what many visitors don’t know is that a portion of the park was once home to a thriving Black community in the 1800s.
Before the city built Central Park, the area from West 82nd to West 89th streets and between 7th and 8th avenues was the location of what was known as Seneca Village, a predominantly African-American community that included the largest group of African-American property owners in New York at that time. The village existed from 1825 to 1857.
This article appears in its entirety At Amsterdam News website. It can be read here.
