The Bronx is a place steeped in history. The land has witnessed bloody battles and cultural milestones that reshaped the world. Yet many of these sites remain unassuming places you could walk by without any sense of their historical value. There are no gawking tourists or bus tours crowding these locations, but this is part of their charm. You can come to these places, which still enjoy regular use by the community, and ponder the mighty events that occured here long ago. Below is our list of ordinary places in the Bronx where historic events took place.

1. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue & Cedar Park
Cedar Park is one of the birthplaces of Hip-hop. Source: NYC Parks.

In New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong Park, a statue of Charles “Buddy” Bolden celebrates the location’s connection to the pioneers of Jazz. The park is filled with tour guides lecturing tourists about Jazz history. No such statue exists at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue and neighboring Cedar Park, where the 18-year-old DJ Cool Herc birthed Hip-hop music. Herc’s music involved a DJ technique that prolonged “The Break,” the heavily percussive part of a record favored by dancers. On August 11, 1973, Herc DJ’d a party in the rec-room of his apartment building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. The party eventually spilled out into the nearby playground at Cedar Park and the phenomenon we know as Hip-hop was born. Herc’s musical style would evolve into an entire genre — spanning music, art, dance and fashion — that would take over the world.

2. Westchester Square
Plaque commemorating an important Revolutionary War skirmish near Westchester Square. Source: Best in the Bronx.

If you know to look for it, you can find a stone marker outside the White Castle near Westchester Square. It’s sandwiched between a hedge and iron fence. This is the site of a crucial Revolutionary War conflict, in which 25 militiamen stalled the advance of 4,000 British soldiers across Westchester Creek, allowing General George Washington enough time to move his troops out of Manhattan following his defeat in the Battle of Long Island. Had the British made it over the creek, they would have cut off Washington’s retreat and doomed the revolution.

3. Charlotte Street
Lovely homes near Charlotte Street and Boston Road. Source: Best in the Bronx.

If you travel up Boston Road, near the area around Crotona Park, you’ll notice the apartment buildings and heavy traffic give way to a neighborhood of cheerful single-family homes with expansive yards. The neighborhood wasn’t always like this. When President Jimmy Carter visited Charlotte Street on October 5, 1977, the area looked like a bombed-out war zone. Iconic photos taken that day show the President strolling through vacant, trash-strewn lots where apartment buildings once stood. The visit drew attention to the plight of the Bronx resulting from de-industrialization and suburbanization. President Carter promised the Federal government would invest in the Bronx, but it wasn’t until the 1980s, under Mayor Ed Koch, that the area was finally rebuilt. Since that time, the Bronx has come a long way: where once landlords preferred to see their properties burn to collect insurance money, glittering luxury apartment buildings now crowd the skyline.

4. Split Rock
Split Rock in the Bronx. Source: Hidden History NY / YouTube.

Beside the roaring traffic of the I-95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, rests a half-buried boulder that appears to have been cleaved in half. Called the “Split Rock,” this geological formation marks the site of tremendous bloodshed that occurred during the colonial period. It is most closely tied to Anne Hutchinson, the radical female preacher who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony due to her unorthodox beliefs. She moved her family to the more tolerant New Netherland colony during a time when colonists were attacking native settlements to drive them from the region. In retaliation, Siwanoy warriors killed Hutchinson and her children at their home near Pelham Bay. Hutchinson’s nine-year-old daughter Susanna was the sole survivor of the attack — taking refuge in the crevice of Split Rock. This is also the site of an important Revolutionary War battle where four regiments of Continental soldiers slowed the British army advance while General George Washington and his troops retreated from the area.

5. Morris Park
The racecourse’s clubhouse was located near what is now the intersection of Radcliff and Van Nest avenues. Source: Best in the Bronx.

Morris Park is a unassuming community of quiet, residential streets and family-run businesses. The neighborhood gets its name from the Morris Park Racecourse, where some of the world’s best thoroughbreds thundered over the earth in pursuit of riches and glory. During its 15 years of operation, from 1889 to 1904, the racecourse hosted numerous championships, including the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. It was also chosen as the location for some of the earliest automobile races and was the site of the first helicopter flight.

6. Van Cortlandt Park
Plaque in Van Cortlandt Park honoring Chief Ninham and the Mohican warriors. Source: NYC Parks.

As you’ve probably noticed, the Bronx was the site of numerous armed struggles during the Revolutionary War. One of those conflicts took place in today’s Van Cortlandt Park. In 1778, a group of Mohican warriors, led by Chief Abraham Ninham, escaped to the woods in this area after having ambushed a contingent of British troops. The British sent 500 men to track down Chief Ninham and attack his band of 17 warriors. Rather than surrender or flee, the Mohicans fought the British to the last man. The Daughters of the American Revolution honored their heroic sacrifice with a plaque placed at the edge of the park near the intersection of 238th Street and Oneida Avenue.