Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Video: Visiting Weeksville
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 11, 2009
Modified Mar 11, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 11, 2009
Modified Mar 11, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Yes, it seems we're addicted to The City Concealed series produced by Thirteen. The latest segment visits Brooklyn's Weeksville, one of the nation's earliest free African American communities. The Weeksville Heritage Center explains that "the area was named after free African American James [Weeks], who acquired property in the area in 1838, only eleven years after slavery ended in New York State." In 2005 restoration was completed at the Hunerfly Road Houses, the last remaining residence and symbols of the historic community.
You can visit the preserved site via the public tours made available, and check out more old images here.
Tagged
brooklyn
history
The City Concealed
thirteen
video
Weeksville
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Why LCD Soundsystem's 'New York, I Love You' is still the city's most honest anthem
The song continues to resonate 20 years after its release, even showing up in movies and TV to convey people’s mixed feelings toward the city.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 30, 2026
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
A guillotine, killer clowns, clownfish: They've got it all on Clinton Place.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
A guillotine, killer clowns, clownfish: They've got it all on Clinton Place.
By
James Ramsay
Owl pellets and period equity: What's happening at NYC's public libraries this November
By
Alec Hamilton
How the Village Halloween Parade keeps its soul
By
Hannah Frishberg
'You Can See Everything' … as long as you go to Staten Island
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .