New Yorks Central Park has A Dirty History
Abolitionist Albro Lyons (main) lived in Seneca Village, New York which was said to have ties to the Underground Railroad. Created in 1825 when an African American brought three lots (inset) from a white couple to build his home the town became a safe haven for Black property owners seeking voter registration by meeting the $250 criteria. German and Irish immigrants would soon move into the settlement (bottom right) and mingle with their Black neighbors, even marrying which was at the time illegal. The integrated Upper West side community was destroyed by the city to make Central Park in 1857 and its residents were cheated out of adequate compensation to move. All Angels' Church - an integrated German and Black church - was forced to take a portion of its original wooden building (top right circled) to build at their new location on 81st Street. In 2011, a project went underway to excavate the area where the village resided in Central Park and they are now looking for descendants of Seneca Village.
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