Seneca Village: The Black Community Destroyed for Central Park (1857) Before Central Park existed, Seneca Village—founded in 1825—was home to approximately 225 residents, two-thirds of whom were free African Americans. It was Manhattan's first notable community of Black property owners. By 1855, there were over 50 homes, three churches, and two schools. Residents owned land, voted (when they met property qualifications), raised livestock, cultivated gardens, and lived with dignity. In 1857, New