Coming up! Celebrate #Juneteenth on Friday, June 19, 2026 at 2:00 PM with this special new lecture, “Black-Owned Farms of Early Westchester.”
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site historians Michael Lord and J. Keith Doherty will delve into the largely hidden history of the black landowning communities in Westchester in the early 1800s, shortly after the abolition of slavery in New York. Many have heard of places like Seneca Village, a free Black settlement in Manhattan, but few realize that there were many similar communities all over the greater New York City area, especially in Westchester. Sizable groups existed in Harrison, White Plains, Yonkers, Hastings-on-Hudson, New Rochelle, and elsewhere. Black families used land to earn dependable income, escape wage labor, and secure their right to vote, as a racist provision in the state constitution required Black men to have at least $250 worth of real estate in order to cast a ballot. Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site historians Michael Lord and J. Keith Doherty will discuss the long impacts of slavery on New York State and how free Black communities gained land ownership before and after abolition.
This program is free and open to everyone thanks to support from the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall. To register call 914-965-4027 or email philipsemanorhall@parks.ny.gov.