Yankees Persevere in Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn's 14th Civil War Regiment established an encampment, complete with drills, at Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims' Yankee Fair Saturday.

It was an excellent neighborhood event (taking into account that the neighborhood is historical Brooklyn Heights, i.e. George Washington Slept Here), with a lot of stuff for the kids -- a petting zoo, pony rides, bouncies -- and satisfying amusements for adults, including a book fair (50 cents for paperbacks, a dollar for current hardcovers, carried away bags-full) and holiday shopping galore. Nice food too -- chili, sandwiches and sweets, served by church elders. Neighbors chatted with neighbors at the tables. All in all, a relaxing and fun gathering, in the heart of Yankee Country.

BTW, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims was the “Grand Central Depot” (via NY Times) of the Underground Railroad in New York City. If you ever get a chance to take a tour of its basement -- a honeycomb of interconnected rooms and tunnels to freedom -- jump on it. (Ask for church historian Lois Rosebrooks.)

From Plymouth Church, it’s a quick walk to the corner of Fulton and Duffield Streets, where the new "Abolitionist Place" sign hangs. But the city will likely soon demolish other reputed sites of the Underground Railroad here, in order to build an underground parking garage as part of the grand Downtown Brooklyn Plan.

- Second Hearing on Underground Railroad Properties in Downtown Brooklyn
- Second Chance for Duffield Street Underground Railroad Homes
- Buildings Shooting Up in Downtown Brooklyn, Why Offer Incentives?
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz