The best camping near African Burial Ground National Monument

Construction workers unearthed a dark secret in Lower Manhattan in 1991. That was when a mass grave of around 400 bodies halted work on a new federal government building. Work stopped until historians could figure out what happened here.

Historians determined that anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 Africans were buried underneath Lower Manhattan. In the rush to build up New York over the past 200 years, the mass graveyard was long forgotten. A map from 1755 lists the area as "Negros Burial Ground." Graves were unmarked. Many of the dead received wooden coffins, but not all of them.

Instead of the government building that was originally planned, a memorial was placed at the site on the corner of Duane Street and African Burial Ground Way (Elk Street). This memorial pays tribute to the men and women who fought for the respectful treatment of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

Bodies were unceremoniously dumped here starting in 1755. That was when New York was called New Amsterdam. Historical records point to a time when slavery wasn't just a North versus South issue. See a visitor's center, large stone monoliths, and raised mounds. The raised mounds are where the bodies were re-interred following their discovery. The deceased were finally given their respect.

Commissioned artwork and a respectful exterior monument pay homage to the nameless thousands buried beneath the site. Inside the visitor's center, the main exhibit shows what a burial ceremony may have looked like in 1755. A 40-seat theater allows for the showing of documentaries, lectures from scholars and multimedia presentations.

The African Burial Ground brings to light the unseen history below New York.