North Preston is a community located in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Canada within the
Halifax Regional Municipality
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
.
The community is populated primarily by
Black Nova Scotians
Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the 18th ...
. North Preston is the largest
Black community in Nova Scotia by population, and has the highest concentration of African Canadians of any community in Canada.
History
The community traces its origins from several waves of migration in the 18th and 19th centuries. The American Revolution brought
Black Loyalists
Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the Cro ...
to the Preston area. The 1790s brought a different group of Black settlers to the regions, the
Maroons
Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...
from Jamaica. While many Maroons later left for
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, a number stayed in Preston and Guysborough County. These groups were joined shortly after by a third migration starting in 1813, of Black refugees from the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. The
Black Refugees
Black refugees were black people who escaped slavery in the United States during the War of 1812 and settled in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Trinidad. The term is used in Canada for those who settled in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. They were t ...
came to Nova Scotia mostly from the
Southern US
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
states, bringing with them a strong Baptist tradition. These three major waves of migrants were also periodically joined by runaway slaves. In recent times, lifelong residents have been joined by small numbers of migrants from
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, Africa, and the United States – many of whom are married into families in North Preston.
In 1842, the First Preston Church was organized for the area. In 1854, the African Baptist Association was organized by
Richard Preston
Richard Preston (born August 5, 1954) is a writer for ''The New Yorker'' and bestselling author who has written books about infectious disease, bioterrorism, redwoods and other subjects, as well as fiction.
Biography
Preston was born in Cambri ...
and
Septimus Clarke Septimus D. Clarke (1787–1859) was a farmer and leader within the Black community in Nova Scotia.
Clarke was one of thousands of Black refugees who escaped slavery in the United States during the War of 1812 and migrated to the British colony of ...
to band together the Baptist churches across Nova Scotia, whose members were primarily black. A second church was organized in North Preston in 1856. This second church was called the “South Church” until 1879, when the congregation erected a new building. The church was renamed St. Thomas Church after their first pastor, John R. Thomas.
William Brown Sr. and William Arnold purchased land on the southern shore of
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
Geography
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...
in the
City of Halifax
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. In 1846, people migrated out of Preston (and Hammonds Plains) and began settling in the area, which gradually became known as
Africville.
In 2014, a multi-purpose community centre designed to serve 5,000 residents was opened on Simmonds Road. An RCMP detachment was built adjoining the community centre, and serves North Preston, East Preston, Cherry Brook and Lake Loon. A $300,000 olympic-sized basketball court was constructed next to the community centre in 2019, as a result of the fundraising efforts of North Preston resident Shaquille Smith.
Present day
North Preston has a high home-ownership rate and a stable population, and has resisted
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
through
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
which has occurred in other
Black Nova Scotian settlements. At $33,233, North Preston has a higher average income compared with the average of $31,795 for Nova Scotia. The community remains relatively isolated from the rest of Halifax, in its rural setting.
North Preston Day is an annual community festival and parade occurring each July 4. Many members of the community attend; the event is free and guests from outside of the community attend.
North Preston is served by Nelson Whynder Elementary School. A number of community buildings, a day care, a medical centre, a volunteer fire department and several local businesses are located in North Preston. Saint Thomas United Baptist Church forms the spiritual heart of the community.
There is some discrepancy about how many residents live in the community. The population estimates range from a low of 805 by the area's city Councillor, to a high of 4,100 by
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
.
Notable people
*
Kirk Johnson
Kirk Cyron Johnson (born June 29, 1972) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2010, and challenged once for the World Boxing Association, WBA heavyweight title in 2002.
Amateur career
Johnson represented Canada at ...
, boxer
*
Custio Clayton, six-time Canadian amateur champion boxer
*
Dwayne Provo
Dwayne Provo (born October 7, 1970) is a Canadian athlete, school administrator, and politician.
Early life
Provo was born in North Preston, Nova Scotia (one of Canada's largest Black communities) and attended university at Saint Mary's Univers ...
, athlete and politician
*
Lindell Wigginton
Lindell Shamar Wigginton (born March 28, 1998) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. He played college ...
, NBA basketball player
Representation in popular culture
*The 2008 children's picture book, ''Up Home'', written by Shauntay Grant depicts places and people in the community.
*In 2010, television personality
Debbie Travis
Debbie Travis (born June 27, 1960 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England) is a British-Canadian television personality, self-taught interior decorator, and former fashion model. She is best known as the host of ''Debbie Travis' Facelift'' and ''Debbie ...
visited the community on North Preston Day to film an episode for her show ''All for One'' on
CBC.
*The 2015
Director X
Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian filmmaker, commercial director, music video director, and television director. Having directed more than 100 music videos, he is widely known as a pr ...
directed film, ''
Across the Line'', is largely filmed in North Preston. It is loosely based around the events surrounding the 1989
Cole Harbour District High School
Cole Harbour District High School is a Canadian public high school located in the Forest Hills area of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. It is operated by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE), and is an International Baccalaureate (IB) world ...
race riots.
*The legal drama television series ''
Diggstown
''Diggstown'' (known as ''Midnight Sting'' in the UK), is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Steven McKay, based on the 1978 novel ''The Diggstown Ringers'' by Leonard Wise. It stars James Woods ...
'' centres around North Preston, where the show's main character Marcie Diggs is from.
The first season premiered on CBC Television on March 6, 2019.
Notes
References
Further reading
* A. Mohamed, ''Struggle for Development :The Black Communities of North & East Preston and Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia'', 1784–1987, DAL Killam, 1988.
{{Halifax Regional Municipality
Black Canadian settlements
Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia
General Service Areas in Nova Scotia