FLATBUSH AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND
2286 Church Ave
ca. 1750s-1850s
Until the 19th century, Flatbush was mostly a rural area devoted to agriculture, with Dutch settlers relying on enslaved Black laborers to work their land. Family cemeteries on these farms are known to have had separate burial sites for these workers, but their location was often excluded from records and obscured.
Information about the existence of a burial ground in the area was provided in 1810 by the publication of an obituary for a Black woman named Eve, as well as on a map from 1855. Local historians also mention the relocation of remains when Bedford Avenue was laid out in 1865.
In 1878, this site became the location for the Flatbush District School No.1, later P.S. 90. Reports noted the discovery of human remains during construction work in 1890 and in 1904. In 2001, archaeological excavations validated these findings, although no graves could be identified. The school building was demolished in 2015 due to its deterioration, and ever since the community has been actively working towards memorializing the history of the site, while also protecting it from being developed.