The Wilson House

Near All Angels’ Church stood the home of the Wilsons, an African-American family made up of William Wilson, his wife Charlotte, and their eight children. Wilson worked as a porter and also served as sexton for the church, maintaining the building and its yard. Archaeological investigations at the site of the Wilson house uncovered numerous artifacts, including remnants of domestic objects and architectural features, which help researchers imagine the lives of the Wilsons and contribute to an understanding of Seneca Village as a largely middle-class community. Many artifacts survived within the buried ruins of the house because of the way it was demolished when the land was cleared for the park: above-ground structures were removed, often with the wood recycled, while the rest of the building, including the chimney and roofing materials, appears to have been collapsed and covered with soil, burying abandoned or broken objects underground.

New York, New York · United States