WHAT IS THE INWOOD AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND?

In March of 1903, various New York City headlines announced the discovery of rows of skeletons under unmarked stones during construction that revealed a slave cemetery. City contractors ultimately destroyed the site to continue leveling the ground for urban development. The remains were quickly analyzed by amateur archaeologists. After, the bones were left uncollected, then discarded. Today, no sign of it as a cemetery remains except in historical records.

The location of the Inwood African burial ground lies between today’s 211th and 212th Streets, between Broadway and 10th Avenue. This block is currently occupied by various auto shops and P.S. 98 – Shorac Kappock’s faculty parking lot. The local community of Inwood is fighting to raise awareness and gain recognition of this sacred site that was sadly desecrated a century ago. Through memorialization, the community hopes to bring peace to those who rested here and their ancestors.

This site is provided as a resource to further understand the historical context of the Inwood African burial ground through a deep analysis using historical maps, newspaper articles, and archeological records.