Weeksville Heritage Center facts for kids
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Hunterfly Road Historic District
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Hunterfly Road House, August 2009
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 Location in New York City
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| Location | 1698, 1700, 1702, 1704, 1706, 1708 Bergen St., New York, New York |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1830 |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000853 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 5, 1972 |
The Weeksville Heritage Center is a special place in Brooklyn, New York City. It is found on Buffalo Avenue between St. Marks Avenue and Bergen Street. This center works to protect the history of Weeksville. Weeksville was one of America's first communities for free Black people in the 1800s.
In Weeksville, people built their own schools, churches, and helpful groups. They also worked hard to end slavery. Weeksville is a very important historical site. It is one of the few places left that shows what Black communities were like before the Civil War.
The Weeksville Heritage Center was started by a group in 1970. It was first called the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford Stuyvesant. Today, the Heritage Center offers tours, art and craft activities, and history programs. These programs are for students in public schools. The Weeksville Society manages the site. This historical group takes care of the 12,400-square-foot (1,150 m2) area. This area includes the old Hunterfly Houses and a large grassy space.
Contents
What You Can See: Hunterfly Houses
The main part of the museum is the Hunterfly Road Historic District. This is a national historic area. It includes four old houses. These houses were built in the 1860s. They are part of the free Black community of Weeksville from the 1800s.
These houses stand along a very old road. This road was used by Native Americans long ago. It led to places where people could find shellfish. In 1970, the houses were named New York City Landmarks. In 1972, they were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are very important historical sites.
Weeksville's Story: A Free Black Community
How Weeksville Began
In 1838, a Black man named James Weeks bought land in Brooklyn. He bought it from another free Black person, Henry C. Thompson. This was 11 years after slavery ended in New York State. The area was named Weeksville after James Weeks.
James Weeks was a respected person in the community. He owned a nice home. Weeksville became a home for many important people. These included ministers, teachers, and even the first Black female doctor in New York. The first Black police officer in New York City also lived there.
The Black community in Weeksville built its own churches and a school. They also had an orphanage, a place for older people, and a helpful society. They even had one of the first Black newspapers, called The Freedman's Torchlight. During the violent New York Draft Riots in 1863, Weeksville became a safe place. Many Black people fled from Manhattan and found safety in Brooklyn.
Finding Weeksville Again
Weeksville was forgotten for a while. But it was found again in 1968. James Hurley, a researcher, started looking for it. He read about Weeksville in a book. Two students, Dolores McCullough and Patricia Johnson, helped him a lot.
Hurley and Joseph Haynes, an engineer, flew over the area. They took pictures of the old houses on Hunterfly Road. This old road was a small part of the original Hunterfly Road. It was on the edge of the Weeksville settlement.
After finding the houses, Hurley learned they might be torn down. So, he started an archeological survey. This means they carefully dug up the area to find old things. Students helped with this project. The land where they dug is now the Weeksville Gardens Houses.
The people involved in the project created a group. It was called The Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History. Most people just called it The Weeksville Society.
The Society bought the Hunterfly Road houses in 1973. The houses were fixed up in the 1980s. They were fixed again in the 1990s after some damage. In 2005, after a big restoration, the houses opened to the public. Each house shows a different time period in Weeksville's history.
Growing the Heritage Center
The Weeksville Heritage Center grew even more. A new building was finished in 2013. It cost $14 million. This new 19,000-square-foot (1,800 m2) space has areas for performances and learning. It also has a cafe and a library. This new building helps the center offer more to the community. The goal is to have many more visitors each year. Caples Jefferson Architects designed this new museum building, which opened in 2014.
In 2019, the center needed money. They asked people to donate to help them. They received $350,000. That same year, the city announced good news. The center would become part of the city's Cultural Institutions Group. This was a big deal. It was the first new group added in over 20 years. It was also the first Black cultural center in Brooklyn to join. This means the center gets important money from the city. This money helps them pay for their daily work. The Weeksville Heritage Center used this money to protect more historical items.
