Whither Seneca Village?

Summary

From its inception in 1997, the Seneca Village Project has been dedicated to the study of this 19th-century African-American community located in today’s Central Park in New York City. We made this long-term commitment because of the important contribution that we think the project can make to the larger narrative of the US experience.  Seneca Village belies the conventional wisdom that there were  few Africans in the north before the great migration of the 20th century, and that, before national emancipation, those few were enslaved.  In fact, Seneca Villagers were free blacks, and many were members of the black middle class.  Having finished excavation and analysis, we are now considering ways in which we can use our knowledge of Seneca Village for public education, through such venues as books, curricula, and exhibits. We are also exploring  ways that the community can be memorialized, so that it will not be forgotten.

Cite this Record

Whither Seneca Village?. Diana Wall, Nan Rothschild, Cynthia R. Copeland, Herbert Seignoret. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434696)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 332