Name Origin
The origin of Seneca Village's name is not exactly known; however, a number of theories have been advanced.
- One theory suggests the word “Seneca” came from a Roman philosopher named Lucius Annaeus Seneca, whose book was often read by African American activists.
- Another theory is that the village was named after a group of Native Americans, the Seneca nation.
- Sara Cedar Miller, the Central Park Conservancy's historian suggests, "It must have been an ethnic slur," a way to simultaneously denigrate Indians and blacks.
- Some suggest it is a derivative of Senegal, a country in West Africa, where many of the people who lived in the village were from.
- Yet other theories suggest the name could also have been used as a code for the underground railroad.
Read more about this topic: Seneca Village
Famous quotes containing the word origin:
“Each structure and institution here was so primitive that you could at once refer it to its source; but our buildings commonly suggest neither their origin nor their purpose.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed,—a, to me, equally mysterious origin for it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)