July 05, 2005
Underground Railroad in more Brooklyn basements?
A group of residents in downtown Brooklyn are trying to find out if their basements were used as part of the Underground Railroad, according to the New York Times. Lewis Greenstein of 233 Duffield St. (map) is spearheading the research, hoping to provide proof before the Downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan tears up the block. On the lowest level were two alcoves that seemed to be fireplaces, two shafts leading to street level, and a circular spot on the floor, three feet in diameter, that seemed to have been filled in with stones and cemented over.
These clues, plus months of research into property records, convinced Mr. Greenstein that his house and several others on the block warranted further study as possible historic sites along the Underground Railroad, a route used by escaped slaves. Elsewhere in his neighborhood is the former home of the Bridge Street African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church, an acknowledged Underground Railroad site, and the Plymouth Church, a famed abolition center, the Times notes.
For more information about the Underground Railroad in New York, see RaceMatters.org.
July 5, 2005 12:56 PM in Architecture, History, Out of Manhattan
Comments (0)
®Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved
|
