Founded in 1834 by two Quaker women, Anna Shotwell and Mary Murray, to care for orphaned and destitute children, the Colored Orphan asylum was an important institution in the black community. By the early 1840s it occupied a substantial building on… Read More
Ashamed of what had happened to their city during the Draft Riots, New York's merchant class set up a Committee of Merchants for the Relief of Colored People offering all black New Yorkers whose property had been destroyed or stolen to submit claims… Read More
During the draft riots, a mob stormed the Lyons's home three times before finally managing to destroy the interior and partially burn it down. The mob's goals were multiple but precise: they wanted to strike at the heart of the black family; destroy… Read More
In 1857 St. Philip’s moved from its original building on Centre Street to a more convenient location uptown on Mulberry Street. Despite their lack of funds, parishioners immediately set to work to beautify the new sanctuary. During the draft… Read More
The New York police department established its headquarters at 300 Mulberry Street in1862. The building stood directly across the street from the church that St. Philip's had recently moved into. These headquarters were the central location for… Read More