After visiting Weeksville Heritage Center, Stefani Zinerman said, “There is no other place in Brooklyn that speaks to the hopes, aspirations, and dreams realized of African descendant people like Weeksville Heritage Center.” Located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, this multi-dimensional museum celebrates the history of Weeksville, one of the country’s first free African American communities, established in 1838.

The mission of Weeksville Heritage Center is to document, preserve, and interpret the history of free African, Caribbean, and African American communities in Weeksville, Brooklyn, and beyond. By doing this, they hope to create and inspire innovative, contemporary uses of history through research, education, the arts, and civic engagement. Or, as one visitor put it, “The Weeksville Heritage Center binds the local community together today and serves as a source of pride and cohesiveness. This is what history is all about.”

In 1838, 11 years after the final abolition of slavery in New York State, James Weeks, an African American, bought a plot of land from Henry C. Thompson, another free African American. This site was called Weeksville after him.

Weeksville would become home to ministers, teachers, and other professionals, including the first female African American physician in New York State and the first African American police officer in New York City. The black community in Weeksville developed its own churches, a school, an orphanage, a cemetery, a retirement home, an African American benevolent society, and one of the first African American newspapers, the Freedman’s Torchlight. During the violent New York Draft Riots of 1863, during the Civil War, the community served as a refuge for many African Americans who fled from Manhattan; many resettled in Brooklyn.

Over time, the community grew and blended with the surrounding neighborhood. Almost a century later, the community had virtually become a legend. In the late 1960s, a teacher and two students from Pratt Neighborhood College led a mission to find and celebrate the historic community. In 1970, they founded the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford Stuyvesant in 1970. This led to the establishment of the Weeksville Heritage Center.

Today, the Center is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-in tours of the Hunterfly Road historic houses are available Tuesday through Friday at 3 p.m. In addition, there are special events throughout the year, such as the Garden Party Concert Series, Brilliant Corners Jazz Concert, Farmers Market, Emancipation Day Celebrations, Vaudeville Family Day, ongoing oral history projects, and so much more. Information about events can be found on their Instagram and Facebook pages. You can also take virtual tours and watch archived live streams and lectures on their YouTube channel.

Broadway Stages is thrilled to have such a treasure in our own backyard. There is so much to be learned and celebrated by a visit to Weeksville Heritage Center. We encourage you to support their mission and plan a visit today! And when you get there, tell them Broadway Stages sent you!