Canada was a small community of free African-Americans established near the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

in the 19th century. Many residents of Canada were employed by the university. The community existed from the early 19th century until the early 20th century, by which time the increasingly valuable land had been purchased by white speculators. Researchers theorize that the community was named in homage to the country bordering the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to the north, where slavery had been abolished under the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. It was located between what is now Jefferson Park Avenue and Venable Lane, and was rediscovered during the expansion of a university parking lot in May 1993. An architectural firm cataloging the finding believes that the cemetery that they've uncovered served the community; 32 graves have been discovered. The site of the home of one community member is being turned into a public park.

References

Geography of Charlottesville, Virginia Ghost towns in Virginia {{CharlottesvilleVA-geo-stub