Banneker Home

Constructed: 10/11/1943
Demolished: 01/01/1950

In 1943, the government built housing for African Americans on the peninsula. The Banneker Homes were names for Benjamin Banneker, an accomplished astronomer and city planner, born in Maryland in 1791. The Banneker Homes were simple structures and trailers that housed black defense workers in a low lying area near the shipyards. The Banneker Homes became public housing for African Americans following the war. In the 1950s, the Banneker Homes were torn down and most residents relocated to Fairfield Homes or public housing in Cherry Hill.