The forgotten history of Seneca Village, a thriving Black community in New York City that was erased to make way for Central Park in the 1850s. | MarkizMarketing

In honor of Black History Month, we're celebrating the people of Seneca Village, one of the first black communities of New York. "They defined what it meant to be an American, even when the law and the government did not see them as such." | Secrets of the Dead

Decades before Central Park existed, a section of it was home to Seneca Village, a vibrant community of free African-Americans that took shape in the 1820s. Dozens of homes, churches, and a school were occupied by 225 people. The history of Seneca Village had been all but lost until researchers in the 1990s began focusing on maps and census records that gave hints of the past. Then, nine years ago, archaeologists discovered thousands of artifacts, including plates and personal items, that had be