Seneca Village
A historical populated place in New York County, New York, recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System.
Location Record
Names and historical notes
Recorded by GNIS. Source wording is retained; these notes have not been independently verified by Forgotten America.
GNIS historical note
Seneca Village existed from 1825 until 1857, and was Manhattan's first significant community of African Americans. By the 1840s, the settlement became a melting pot of ethnicity including Irish and German immigrants, as well as possibly Native Americans. The New York Census reported 264 persons living in Seneca Village. The village included churches, a school and several cemeteries. In 1857, the settlement was razed and demolished in order to create Central Park.
Source editions and recorded citations
Feature ID 2073274. Description/History extract: August 28, 2026. All Names extract: September 30, 2026. Retrieved October 22, 2026. Only populated fields are displayed.
GNIS citation text may identify a source series rather than a specific page. It is reproduced below without implying that its underlying documents were inspected.
- Text The American Guide Series, Compiled and Written by the Federal Writers' Project of the Work Projects Administration. A state by state guide series published by various publishers, in the late 1930's and 1940's. Each book studies and describes each state's history, natural endowments, and special interests. Use code US-T125/Name/YYYY/p#.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Historical Features.