Inside Weeksville: Three Houses a Free Black Brooklyn Built for Itself

Three wooden houses sit at an angle along the old Hunterfly Road, a trace of the colonial road that ran here before the street grid. Their rooms tell the stories of everyday people the history books skipped. In 1838 James Weeks and other free Black investors bought this land, and the community here worked its own trades and built its own institutions. They are now Weeksville Heritage Center, at 158 Buffalo Avenue between Bergen and St. Marks in Crown Heights.

The oldest is a single story double from the 1860s, its rooms telling how neighbors sheltered people fleeing the 1863 Draft Riots. One door down, the two story house belonged to the Johnsons over three generations in the 1900s. The last house is set in the 1930s.

Tours run Tuesday and Wednesday at 11:30 AM, Thursday and Friday at 2:30 PM, and Saturday at noon and 2 PM, and only ticketed visitors may go inside. Each tour takes 14 people at most and about an hour. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for kids and seniors, sold online only—no payment at the door—and you must book at least 48 hours ahead.

If tours are full, the grounds and gallery are free Tuesday–Saturday, and a self-guided brochure covers the houses from outside. There is no heat, so dress for the weather. No photos inside: take them on the grounds. No ramps either: one to three steps at each entrance, no wheelchairs or strollers, and almost no seating. Take the A or C to Utica Avenue, or the 3/4 to Utica Avenue on Eastern Parkway, then walk about 10–15 minutes.