Black History Month Posters - Final

The mission of Weeksville Heritage Center is to document, preserve and interpret the history of free African American communities in Weeksville, Brooklyn and beyond to create and inspire innovative, contemporary uses of African American history through education, the arts, and civic engagement.

Learn more at weeksvillesociety.org

VISIT158 Buffalo Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213Tuesday - Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM

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Weeksville Heritage Center/Unearthing History in Your Backyard

Fun Fact #1

The boundaries of Weeksville stretched from Fulton St. to the North, East New York Avenue in the South, Ralph Avenue in the East and to Troy Avenue

in the West. In the 1850s Weeksville was the home

to approximately 525 residents.




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Fun Fact #2

Weeksville was a safe-haven and refuge to

Africans fleeing the south from the Fugitive Slave

Act of 1850 and the Manhattan Draft Riots of

1863.







Fun Fact #3

Weeksville grew on Eastern Long Island in the middle of

former Dutch farmlands. Rural, hilly, and full of fertile farms, scrub, and

woodlands, Weeksville lay in the ninth ward, farthest from the city’s urban center. By 1840, 24 of the 27 families who lived in Weeksville were African

American (82%). An official place designation appeared on the

1849 “Twelve Miles Around New York” map.







Fun Fact #4

Weeksville Heritage Center is the steward for three remaining

historic houses, which date to the 19th century and are located on historic

Hunterfly Road. Weeksville emphasizes the history of sanctuary, refuge,

independence, self-sufficiency, self-determination, activism, and their

contemporary relevance.







Fun Fact #5

During the 19th century the village of Weeksville was a

vibrant and independent free African American community. The

settlement is named for James Weeks, one of the seven

investors who acquired the property in 1838 to create an

intentional land-owning community.







Fun Fact #6

In 1968, the 4 homes are rediscovered by James Hurley,

Joseph Haynes, William “Dewey” Harley, Dolores McCullough, &

Patricia Johnson. The community, organized by Joan Maynard and the students of P.S. 243 conduct an archeological dig on the site

of the Weeksville Gardens public housing.




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Fun Fact #7

Thanks to the efforts of our first Executive Director, Joan

Maynard, and the community of Brooklyn, in 1971 the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses were declared national

landmarks, and the intentional free black community is preserved as a place of historic significance. Today, Weeksville

Heritage Center preserves and documents that history and creates

and inspires exploration through a contemporary lens of

arts, culture, and education.






Black History Month Posters - Final

Documents

Transcript of Black History Month Posters - Final