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80:, a member of one of the most prominent and land-holding families in Brooklyn. There was ample opportunity for land acquisition during this time, as many prominent land-holding families sold off their properties during an intense era of land speculation. Many African Americans saw land acquisition as their opportunity to gain economic and political freedom by building their own communities.
76:. In 1838, 11 years after the final abolition of slavery in New York State, Weeks bought a plot of land from Henry C. Thompson, a free African American and land investor, in the Ninth Ward of central Brooklyn. Thompson had acquired the land from Edward Copeland, a politically-minded European American and Brooklyn grocer, in 1835. Previously Copeland bought the land from an heir of
102:). Almost 40 percent of residents were southern-born. Nearly one-third of the men over 21 owned land; in antebellum New York, unlike in New England, non-white men had to own real property (to the value of $ 250) and pay taxes on it to qualify as voters. The village had its own churches (including
264:
as the
Hunterfly Road Historic District. The houses were purchased by the Society in 1973, and in 2005, following a $ 3 million restoration, the houses reopened to the public as the Weeksville Heritage Center, with each house showcasing a different era of Weeksville history. Construction of an
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The village itself was established by a group of
African-American land investors and political activists, and covered an area in the borough's eastern Bedford Hills area, bounded by present-day
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was a founding member and executive director for the
Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History. The preservation of the Hunterfly Road Houses became her life's work.
207:) were discovered off Bergen Street between Buffalo and Rochester Avenues, facing an old lane—a remnant of Hunterfly Road, which was at the eastern edge of the 19th century village.
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200:, Hurley and Joseph Haynes, a local resident and pilot, consulted old maps and flew over the area in an airplane in search of surviving evidence of the village.
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The 1968 discovery of the
Hunterfly Road Houses led to the formation of The Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History (now the
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110:), a school ("Colored School no. 2", now P.S. 243), a cemetery, and an old age home. Weeksville had one of the first African-American newspapers, the
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Weeksville is currently a working-class neighborhood with
African-American and Hispanic residents as well as Caribbean immigrants from
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466:"Walkers in New York City's 'Inexhaustible Space' - From Whitman to Kazin, Writers Who Found Inspiration on New York's Streets"
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122:. In addition, the Colored School was the first such school in the U.S. to integrate both its staff and its students.
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recalling the earlier period noted that James Weeks "owned a handsome dwelling at
Schenectady and Atlantic Avenues."
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workshop on
Brooklyn and New York City neighborhoods led by historian James Hurley. After reading of Weeksville in
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19,000-square-foot (1,800 m) education and cultural center adjacent to the houses was completed in 2014.
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386:"Weeksville, Brooklyn: The Remarkable Story of One of America's First Free Black Towns"
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520:"National Register of Historic Places Registration:Hunterfly Road Historic District"
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of 1863, the community served as a refuge for many
African-Americans who fled from
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287:"Hidden in Brooklyn, A Bit of Black History; Freedmen's Homes Seen as Attraction"
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How
Weeksville, a Center of Black History, Fought to Survive (New York Times)
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87:, East New York Avenue, Ralph Avenue and Troy Avenue. A 1906 article in the
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Brooklyn's
Promised Land: The Free Black Community of Weeksville, New York
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By the 1850s, Weeksville had more than 500 residents from all over the
1307:
Populated places in New York (state) established by African Americans
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New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
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318:"Haven for Blacks in Civil War Riots Now Safeguards History"
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WEEKSVILLE WAS A FREE BLACK COMMUNITY IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
384:
Morris), Suzanne Spellen (aka Montrose (February 1, 2016).
114:, and in the 1860s became the national headquarters of the
635:
A Day in Weeksville: Brooklyn's Historic, Free Black Town
578:"Weeksville Buys Historic Houses; Sees Cost of $ 200,000"
598:
152:
Rediscovery of Weeksville and the Hunterfly Road Houses
144:
grew and expanded, Weeksville gradually became part of
188:
The search for Historic Weeksville began in 1968 in a
52:. Today it is part of the present-day neighborhood of
104:
Bethel Tabernacle African Methodist Episcopal Church
437:
Unearthing Gotham: The Archaeology of New York City
435:Cantwell, Anne-Marie; Wall, Diana diZerega (2003).
411:"New York State Constitution, Article 2, Section 1"
148:, and memory of the village was largely forgotten.
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285:Christian, Nichole M. (October 29, 2001).
1287:African-American history in New York City
518:Stephen Lash and Betty Ezequelle (n.d.).
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606:"Weeksville Heritage Center - About Us"
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383:
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203:Four historic houses (now known as the
167:Three of the four Hunterfly Road houses
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554:"National Register Information System"
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666:Video profile of Weeksville, Brooklyn
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559:National Register of Historic Places
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262:National Register of Historic Places
196:, a 1912 book by Brooklyn historian
829:Columbia Street Waterfront District
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464:Roberts, Sam (December 14, 2014).
16:Neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York
14:
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316:Ramirez, Anthony (June 5, 2005).
260:, and in 1972 were placed on the
256:In 1970 the houses were declared
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225:St. Vincent & the Grenadines
194:The Eastern District of Brooklyn
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108:Berean Missionary Baptist Church
98:(as well as two people born in
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1:
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1292:Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
136:After the completion of the
120:Howard Colored Orphan Asylum
116:African Civilization Society
7:
989:Pacific Park/Atlantic Yards
64:Weeksville was named after
10:
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656:Weeksville Heritage Center
247:Weeksville Heritage Center
241:Weeksville Heritage Center
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235:Weeksville Heritage Center
59:
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1014:Prospect Lefferts Gardens
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640:
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540:"Accompanying two photos"
353:. NYU Press. p. 29.
1297:Culture of New York City
1302:Crown Heights, Brooklyn
258:New York City Landmarks
661:Brooklyn Heritage Tour
68:, an African-American
26:
1225:Joint interest areas:
564:National Park Service
441:Yale University Press
205:Hunterfly Road Houses
112:Freedman's Torchlight
24:
347:Wellman, J. (2014).
127:New York Draft Riots
1019:Prospect Park South
221:Trinidad and Tobago
125:During the violent
999:Park Slope Village
744:Bedford–Stuyvesant
583:The New York Times
499:. October 17, 2017
323:The New York Times
292:The New York Times
27:
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929:Greenwood Heights
874:East Williamsburg
652:
651:
566:. March 13, 2009.
450:978-0-300-09799-3
360:978-0-8147-4446-8
198:Eugene Armbruster
38:African Americans
25:Map of Weeksville
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1131:Community boards
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1009:Prospect Heights
789:Brooklyn Heights
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231:, among others.
211:Weeksville today
181:The fourth house
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36:founded by free
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1109:Wyckoff Heights
1104:Wingate/Pigtown
1099:Windsor Terrace
944:Manhattan Beach
909:Gerritsen Beach
879:Farragut Houses
809:Carroll Gardens
759:Beverley Square
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586:. June 24, 1973
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884:Fiske Terrace
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869:East New York
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864:East Flatbush
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859:Dyker Heights
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839:Crown Heights
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729:Barren Island
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711:New York City
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707:Neighborhoods
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85:Fulton Street
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78:John Lefferts
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54:Crown Heights
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50:United States
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1094:Williamsburg
1084:West Midwood
1078:
1069:Vinegar Hill
1044:Spring Creek
904:Fulton Ferry
834:Coney Island
819:Clinton Hill
779:Bridge Plaza
774:Borough Park
754:Bergen Beach
600:
588:. Retrieved
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527:. Retrieved
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501:. Retrieved
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477:December 20,
475:. Retrieved
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418:. Retrieved
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393:. Retrieved
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364:. Retrieved
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327:. Retrieved
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296:. Retrieved
290:
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251:Joan Maynard
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89:New York Age
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34:neighborhood
29:
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18:
1089:White Sands
1059:Sunset Park
1004:Plumb Beach
974:New Utrecht
954:Marine Park
899:Fort Greene
844:Ditmas Park
824:Cobble Hill
794:Brownsville
769:Boerum Hill
749:Bensonhurst
390:Brownstoner
66:James Weeks
1281:Categories
1079:Weeksville
994:Park Slope
979:Ocean Hill
964:Mill Basin
939:Kensington
924:Greenpoint
734:Bath Beach
269:References
96:East Coast
30:Weeksville
1074:Wallabout
969:Navy Yard
934:Homecrest
919:Gravesend
894:Flatlands
814:Chinatown
739:Bay Ridge
536:See also:
529:March 12,
503:April 28,
395:April 28,
366:April 28,
131:Manhattan
70:stevedore
1256:Category
1246:Timeline
1064:The Hole
1034:Sea Gate
1024:Red Hook
949:Mapleton
889:Flatbush
849:Downtown
804:Canarsie
799:Bushwick
718:Brooklyn
118:and the
106:and the
74:Virginia
46:New York
42:Brooklyn
1266:Commons
1241:History
959:Midwood
914:Gowanus
714:borough
709:in the
590:July 9,
420:May 31,
329:July 9,
298:July 9,
229:Grenada
217:Jamaica
140:and as
60:History
764:BoCoCa
447:
416:. 1821
357:
100:Africa
854:Dumbo
414:(PDF)
72:from
592:2010
531:2011
505:2019
479:2014
445:ISBN
422:2015
397:2019
368:2019
355:ISBN
331:2010
300:2010
716:of
249:).
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
