Craftspeople, Doctors, and Domestic Servants in 1880

Mapping Historical New York allows you to look at the geographic distribution of trades in 1850, 1880, and 1910. Given how sparsely Harlem was settled in 1850, it’s really only the 1880 data and beyond that shows clear patterns.

This first map is of Craftsmen in 1880. Note their presence in the Upper East Side and in East Harlem along the river where warehouses, industry, and assorted forms of commerce would have required many skilled laborers.

Doctors and surgeons in 1880, however, are limited to a small part of Harlem, mostly in the brownstone blocks above 125th Street in Central Harlem:

The distribution of Domestic Servants is also very telling in its compactness:

Again, mostly above 125th Street, in Central Harlem.

See more at Mapping Historical New York.

Listening to Harlem

The Harlem Connection is a weekly radio show where a trio of music lovers joins forces with the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce to provide you the artists and the sounds that helped establish Harlem as a cultural Mecca.

Come aboard Friday at 10 PM or Sunday at 3AM on 99.5FM (in NYC) and/or www.WBAI.org/listen-live and/or www.RhythmAndSoulRadio.com (worldwide)… then available on demand via https://WBAI.org/archive (as all past episodes are) under “The Harlem Connection” (filed alphabetically by “T.”)


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