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Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Chatham-Kent\'s Black Historic Sites are worth visiting
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Although we have three of the most exciting and interesting black heritage sites in North America within Chatham-Kent, it is amazing to find out just how many citizens of Chatham-Kent have never in their lives visited Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Buxton National Historic Site or the WISH Center which houses the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society. February, being Black Heritage Month, is an excellent time to plan your visits to these spots and there are lots of reasons why you should visit all three.Uncle Tom's Cabin, situated near Dresden, provides visitors with a wealth of information about the life of fugitive slaves in the Dresden area. Focusing on the life of Josiah Henson, the site documents his life as a slave for forty-one years as well as his life in Upper Canada after escaping from slavery (1830- 1883)
The Dawn Settlement, of whom Josiah Henson helped to settle, began in 1841. It was established to provide a refuge and a new beginning for former slaves. Henson also helped to establish the British American Institute which was one of Canada's first industrial schools. The school was created to advance the plight of fugitive slaves in Upper Canada by allowing them employment opportunities.
Throughout the world Josiah Henson's name became synonymous with the character "Uncle Tom" in Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel UNCLE TOM'S CABIN when it was published in 1852. During its first year of publication the novel sold 300,000 copies and dramatically helped to raise awareness with regards to the brutality of slavery. President Abraham Lincoln himself told Harriet Beecher Stowe that he felt that her novel played a role in the onset of the American Civil War and the resulting abolition of slavery.
In 1983, Josiah Henson became the first person of African descent to be featured on a Canadian stamp and in 1999 the Government of Canada erected a plaque designating him as a Canadian of National Historical Significance.
The site open on a seasonal basis includes the Museum Complex, the Josiah Henson Interpretive Center, The Sawmill, The Smokehouse, the Josiah Henson House, the Henson Family Cemetery, and The Pioneer Church. The site opens in May but is open to pre-booked tours all year long. Phone 683-2978 before you plan your visit.
The Buxton National Historic Site has as its prime focus the preservation of material and artifacts related to the Buxton Settlement with special emphasis on the history and accomplishment of the original settlers. It is of special importance as it represents one of the few remaining Black Canadian settlements in existence since the pre-civil war era.
A visit to North Buxton takes you back in time to 1849 when it was known as the Elgin or Buxton Settlement. Originally began by Reverend William King as an organization based on abolitionist principles, it was a tract of some 9,000 acres which was made available to fugitive slaves or to any free Blacks that were looking for opportunities for a better life.
At its peak, nearly 2000 people lived in and around what was termed the most successful of all planned settlements for fugitive slaves
The current museum is supported and staffed by people who have an ancestral and present tie with the village and an emphasis is placed on the researching of Black history and finding one's "roots". It contains two rooms of original artifacts and a well-stocked research library.
Adjacent to the museum is a school, which is one of the oldest surviving links to the era. It was one of the original buildings from the settlement days and was used for over one hundred years (1861- 1968) as an educational institution. The school has now been restored and is used as an exciting interpretive center for school classes to experience, in an authentic setting, the superior schooling of the Buxton Settlement and to illustrate the evolution of the community. Beside the school is the British Methodist Episcopalian Church that has held worship services for almost 140 years.
A complete tour of the site includes the 1861 schoolhouse, the Black cemetery, two churches and a train station of the late 1800s and, of course, their Homecoming Celebrations held every Labour Day Weekend has an international reputation and is an experience onto itself!
The Buxton National Historic Site is open April, May, June and September (Wednesday to Sunday 1:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.), July to August (10:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M) and from October to March (Monday to Friday 1:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.) or by appointment.
Next week we take a close look at the exciting and new things happening during Black History Month at Chatham's WISH Center's Black History Room.
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
