Black History Exhibit Opens at Upper Canada Village

By James Morgan. Canada Correspondent for NCPR.

One of Eastern Ontario's premier historical attractions now has an exhibit on the lives of Black Canadians around the time of Canadian Confederation in the 1860s.

The permanent Black history exhibit at Upper Canada Village near Morrisburg was officially opened on Saturday, May 25. Senator Bernadette Clement, former Mayor of Cornwall, and the first Black woman to serve as a mayor in Ontario attended the opening of the exhibit with Ottawa City Councilor Rawlson King, who is the city's first Black council member.

The exhibit shares the context of the area's Black population and tells the personal stories of some of the prominent Black figures who helped shape Upper Canada, which is today the province of Ontario. It is a celebration of Black history, Black heritage, and Black achievement. Admission to the Black History Exhibit is included in Upper Canada Village's general daily admission.

The new Black history programming was developed through extensive research and with input from Keisha Cuffie, the Black History Program Development Coordinator at the village, and through community consultation with local Black communities.

Consultation involved reaching out directly to guests who previously submitted feedback about the underrepresentation of Black history at the Village. Many of them became community advisors, helping to shape the exhibit and share the stories with authenticity, sensitivity, and pride. Some of these advisors, including members of the Whitford, Speck, and Lewis families, attended the opening of the exhibit.

The exhibit aims to tell diverse stories of local Black Canadians throughout Upper Canada's history, using artifacts, archival documents, individual and family stories, excerpts from oral histories, newspaper accounts, and photographs to illustrate their contributions. The exhibit features select objects to elevate stories that speak to Black liberation and social equality, such as a period barber chair, representing entrepreneurial success and community contribution.

Upper Canada Village Black History Program Development Coordinator Keisha Cuffie and her children at the opening of the exhibit. Upper Canada Village photo

Upper Canada Village Black History Program Development Coordinator Keisha Cuffie and her children at the opening of the exhibit. Upper Canada Village photo

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire - which included colonial Upper Canada - in 1833. Many Black people had remained loyal to the British during the American Revolution and relocated to the Canadian colonies, particularly Nova Scotia. John Baker, a Loyalist soldier who died on January 17, 1871, in Cornwall, was the last surviving former African slave in Ontario and Quebec.

In 1837, Black soldiers also fought on the British side during the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada (now Quebec). One of those soldiers was Elias Cooley of Prescott, who fought with The Queen's Royal Borderers from Gananoque who fought at the Battle of the Windmill near Prescott in 1838. Cooley worked as a barber in Prescott and served as captain of the volunteer fire department. In the 1860s, he returned to his home state of Massachusetts and eventually moved to Michigan where he died in 1903.

Pre-Confederation Canada, including parts of what is now southern Ontario, was a significant destination on the Underground Railroad for American slaves seeking freedom. Abolitionists in Canada welcomed slaves, particularly after the introduction of the Fugitive Slave Act in the United States.

The Black History Exhibit at Upper Canada Village is located in Crysler Hall. Upper Canada Village is located on County Road 2, east of Morrisburg and is accessible from Highway 401 from Upper Canada Road, Exit 758.

Reprinted with permission from NCPR.