Seneca Village was once a thriving Black community in a section of New York where Central Park exists now. The village was torn down to make way for the development of the public park, displacing rightful Black land owners and poor Irish settlers.
Seneca Village was established in 1825 after a local deliveryman began selling portions of his farm land. Andrew Williams bought the first three lots for $125 and by 1832, 25 more lots were sold to Black people. When slavery ended in New York State on July 4, 1827, Seneca Village became a destination for many of the state’s freed slaves. As the village grew, it accepted other oppressed and economically challenged ethnic groups.
In Ireland, a potato famine forced many from the country to head to the United States in order to survive. Many of these new settlers lived in Seneca Village and later comprised a third of its residents. Both Black and Irish people were looked down upon by the more affluent members of Manhattan’s upper society and the village was viewed as a shantytown. This discrimination led to a manner of solidarity between the two marginalized groups.
