Central Park Exhibit Honors Displaced African-American Village

CENTRAL PARK, NY — A new outdoor exhibit in Central Park details the history of a predominantly African-American community that occupied the land before the creation of the park.

Plaques detailing important historical sites of the former Senaca Village were installed inside Central Park where the village once stood in the West 80s. The exhibit is a the result of a partnerhsip between the Central Park Conservancy and the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History. Park visitors can enter the park at West 85th Street to view a map of the historic sites and plan out a self-guided tour. Guided tours will also be offered on Saturday, Oct. 25 and Sunday Oct. 26.

"We’re proud to be able to promote a broader public understanding of Seneca Village and its importance in New York City’s history," Central Park Conservancy CEO Elizabeth Smith said in a statement.

Seneca Village was founded in the 1820s when black New Yorkers began to buy property in the West 80s, which at the time was a rural and remote area. By the 1850s the community had grown to feature at least 52 houses, three churches, a school, gardens and several barns and stables. At its heydey, Seneca Village was the largest known concentration of African-American landowners in New York.

About 1,600 inhabitants of Seneca Village were displaced when the city acquired Seneca Village's land through eminent domain to build Central Park. Landowners were compensated, but it's likely that the land was undervalued considering the prestige now associated with Central Park-adjacent real estate. The village was vacated by 1857.

"The Institute for the Study of Seneca Village History has been studying Seneca Village for decades, through archeological excavations as well as research about the community and its descendants. This exhibit of signage will be a valuable way for the public to begin to explore the history of this extraordinary community, which is still not widely known, and to inspire discussion about its meaning today," founders of the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History said in a statement.

Sites highlighted by the new plaques include Seneca Village's significant gardens, churches, homes and infrastructure. Several plaques also detail what life was like for Seneca Village residents, including the significant Irish-American community that made up about one third of the village's residents. The conservancy plans to keep the signage on exhibit through October 2020.