Foley Square c. 1730

Just beyond Foley Square lay the edge of the African Burial Ground, which was closed in 1794 after once covering more than 5 acres, about 5 city blocks, and serving as the burial place of an estimated 10,000 men, women, and children of African heritage. Nestled between hills, part of the graveyard was buried beneath earth and buildings as the city expanded northward, and it was long assumed to have been destroyed by centuries of development until intact burials were unearthed in the early 1900’s during construction at 290 Broadway. The site is now a National Historic Landmark within the New York City African Burial Ground and Commons Historic District, and its surviving remnant is dedicated to all who were enslaved in the city’s early history from 1825 until July 4, 1827, Emancipation Day in New York.

New York, New York · United States