The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History () is an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, that documents the life of

Josiah Henson Josiah Henson (June 15, 1789 – May 5, 1883) was an author, abolitionist, and minister. Born into slavery, in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1830, and founded a settlement and laborer's sch ...

, the

history of slavery The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, a ...

, and the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. The historic site is situated on the grounds of the former Dawn settlement established by Henson; a

runaway slave ''Runaway Slave'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Showbiz and A.G. It was released on September 22, 1992, via Payday/London Records. The album was produced by Showbiz and fellow D.I.T.C. crew member Diamond D. It features g ...

, abolitionist, and minister. Through his autobiography, ''

The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', he served as the inspiration for the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

's ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

''. The historic site contains an interpretive centre, several historic buildings from the Dawn settlement, and two cemeteries; one of which holds Henson's gravesite. Informal tours of Henson's family home began in 1948, although the larger property was not converted into a museum until 1964, after several other related historical structures were moved onto the historic site. The museum, initially known as Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site, was privately owned until 1988, when it was sold to Kent County. Ownership of the property was later transferred to St. Clair Parkway Commission in 1995, before it was transferred to the

Ontario Heritage Trust The Ontario Heritage Trust () is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural heritage of Canada's most populous province, Ontario. ...

in 2005.

History

The museum resides on the Dawn settlement, a community formed by

, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher and

who escaped to Canada 28 October 1830. Henson arrived in Canada in 1830, although he returned to the United States on a number of occasions, to encourage and facilitate the escape of other slaves to Canada as a conductor for the

. Henson is believed to have personally led 118 enslaved people to Canada. Henson also led a Black

Canadian Militia The Canadian Militia is a historical title for military units raised for the defence of Canada. The term has been used to describe sedentary militia units raised from local communities in Canada; as well as the regular army for the Province of Ca ...

unit as its captain in support of the government during the

Rebellions of 1837–1838 The Rebellions of 1837–1838 (), were two armed rebellion, uprisings that took place in Lower Canada, Lower and Upper Canada in 1837 and 1838. Both rebellions were motivated by frustrations with lack of political reform. A key shared goal was r ...

Dawn settlement

The Dawn settlement was formed several years after the rebellion in 1841, with an property purchased as a refuge and a place of work for former slaves from the United States. Henson also purchased an additional of land adjacent to the community, later selling of that property back to the Dawn settlement. The settlement grew a number of crops, and cultivated eastern black walnut lumber to export to the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1842, Henson helped co-found the

British-American Institute The British-American Institute of Science and Industry was a school started in 1842 by Josiah Henson near Dresden, Canada West, as part of the Dawn Settlement, a community of freedmen and fugitive slaves. The institute was a school for all ages d ...

in Dawn, providing its settlers with vocational education. A sawmill was also erected within the settlement, whose products won Henson a medal at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

in London. As a result of administrative problems, management of the settlement was assumed by the

British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

in 1849.

In 1849, Henson published an autobiography of his life, ''

'', garnering attention from abolitionists. The autobiography later served as the inspiration for the

titular character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

anti-slavery novel, ''

''. The publication of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' was initially controversial, with American pro-slavery advocates calling the novel an exaggerated fiction. Stowe responded to the critiques by publishing another book, ''

A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin ''A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin'' is a book by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was published to document the veracity of the depiction of slavery in Stowe's anti-slavery novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852). First published in 1853 by Je ...

''. The second book provided an annotated bibliography of sources she consulted to write ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''; with Stowe noting that she drew inspiration for Uncle Tom from the "published memoirs of the venerable Josiah Henson... now pastor of the missionary settlement at Dawn, in Canada". At its peak, there were approximately 500 settlers residing in the Dawn settlement. However, a number of settlers began to return to the United States following the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

in 1862. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Henson supported families in the settlement whose male members returned to the United States to fight in the civil war. The settlement went into decline after the British-American Institute was closed in 1868, and the remaining settlers moved to other communities within

. However, Henson remained at the settlement, passing away in 1883; buried near his home. Henson's funeral remains one of

's largest funerals held in the community, with businesses closed for the day, and a procession to the gravesite having formed. Following Henson's death, his spouse sold the homestead and moved to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Post-settlement history

After Henson's spouse sold the home the building was left unattended. During the 1920s, the house became a site for pilgrimage for Black

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

s, with Henson having joined the masonry late in his life. In 1930 members of the

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

(IODE) began to care for the gravesites on location; with the Dresden & District Horticultural Society agreeing to assist the IODE in maintaining the property the following year. In May 1933, maintenance of the gravesite was formally granted to the horticultural society.

Museum history

The owner of the property surrounding the Henson home, William Chapple, saw the house as a potential tourist attraction and opened it to the public in 1948. Chapple published a book in an attempt to promote the building, ''The Story of Uncle Tom'', and began to provide tours of the building. Admission to the house was through drop in contributions, with visitors placing their donation in a pot outside the building's access point. Chapple later sold his property to Jack Thomson. During the Thomson period of property ownership, the Henson homestead was moved twice, reorienting it from its original position. Thomson later opened the entire property as a museum in 1964. Shortly after the property was opened into a museum, Thomson sought out a descendant of Henson, Barbara Carter, to work as its curator. During Carter's tenure as the museum's curator, she helped shift the institution's focus from just chronicling Henson's life, to incorporate the

and the Underground Railroad in its exhibits. In 1984, the property was sold to Kent County, which operated the museum until 1995, when the property was transferred to the St. Clair Parkway Commission. A C$1.2 million restoration of the property took place the year the property was transferred to the commission; restoring the buildings to their older configurations and constructing a visitor centre. In 1999, the

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

placed a plaque next to the grave of Henson, recognizing him as a " Canadian of National Historic Significance". In 2005, the property was transferred again to the

, an agency of Ontario's Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. In the same year, three historic buildings on the property were designated as heritage buildings through the provincial ''

Ontario Heritage Act The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Canadian Province of Ontario, as being of cultural heritage ...

''. In the 2010s, the museum's administration considered renaming the historic site to reflect Henson's actual name, and to avoid association with the derogatory Uncle Tom moniker that emerged from late-19th century

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

s. In July 2022, the museum changed its name from ''Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site'' to the ''Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History.''

Grounds

The historic site is situated in southwest Dresden, near the

Sydenham River The Sydenham River is a river in Chatham-Kent, Lambton County and Middlesex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, flowing southwest from its source west of London, Ontario and emptying into Lake Saint Clair. The length of the river is and it ...

. It operates as an

, situated on of land that once housed the Dawn settlement's British-American Institute. The property houses an interpretive visitor centre that was erected in 1994, and includes the North Star Theatre, the Underground Railroad Freedom Gallery, and gift shop. The theatre typically exhibits a video that documents Henson's life; whereas the gallery features artifacts relating to the Dawn settlement, Henson's life, and the Underground Railroad. Items in the museum's collection includes an early edition of his autobiography. Two cemeteries are located on the historic site, one being the British-American Institute, and the other being the Henson family cemetery. Only 21 headstones are present at the Henson family cemetery, although it is believed that more than 300 graves are located there. A memorial monument commemorating Henson is placed near his grave, marked by a Masonic symbol, and a crown to signify his visit with

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. In addition to the visitor centre, and gravesites, the property also contains several historic structures, including three buildings recognized by the ''Ontario Heritage Act'', a sawmill, and a smokehouse.

Historic buildings

There are presently three historic buildings in the grounds of the Josiah Henson Museum that are recognized under the ''Ontario Heritage Act'', all originating from the 19th century. Two of the historic residential buildings originate from inhabitants of the Dawn settlement, while the Pioneer Church is a historic building that was relocated to the historic site. The Henson family home is a typical example of 19th century

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

, being a two-storey post-and-beam structure clad in clapboard. The home is built from local materials such as

red oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

. The building was physically moved several times since the Henson family moved from the property; although its location was always within the original confines of the Dawn settlement. The home's original location has since been occupied by open farmland. Precisely dating the age of the Henson home remains difficult due to a lack of conclusive evidence. Estimates to when it was erected range from the early-1840s to mid-1870s, although more recent efforts to date the building suggest a year around 1850. In 1995, the building was restored to its 1850s configuration, which saw the removal of a fireplace not a part of the building's original construction; and the construction of the building's original front porch on the southern exterior of the home. During the same restoration period, the inner beams were strengthened, and the clapboards were replaced. The Harris House is another historic two-storey, clapboard-clad building located on the property. Built in 1890, the Harris House was originally situated elsewhere in Dresden. After its original occupants left the home, it was used as a granary for a nearby farm, before being moved to the museum property in 1964 to assist with museum operations. The structure itself is a vernacular building style typically built by Black refugees arriving in Canada during that period. It measured , was built from local materials, lacks ornamentation found on other buildings in the era, and only includes two rooms, one on the first floor for domestic activity, and a second on the second floor for sleeping quarters. The Harris House was also designed to help keep its occupants warm during the winter, with the house built taller than typical to facilitate the maximum usage of heat from the fireplace on the first floor. The third historic building situated on the property is the Pioneer Church, a one-room, single-storey board and batten building designed in a

Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...

style; typical of churches found in rural Ontario during that period. Although the Pioneer Church dates back to the 1850s, the building was not erected by the inhabitants of the Dawn settlement, and was originally located away in Wheatley, Ontario as an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church. The Pioneer Church was moved to the Uncle Tom's Historic Site during the 1960s, in order to provide a visual representation of the original church built in the Dawn settlement. The Pioneer Church was selected by the museum as it closely resembled the original Dawn church in design, material, and size. The original church saw multiple uses in addition to being a church, although it was destroyed in a fire during the early 20th century. However, two objects from the original church were preserved and fitted into the Pioneer Church, the oak

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and organ.

Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with several educational and museum organizations in Canada including the

Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; , ''AMC''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. As with most trade associations ...

, the

Canadian Heritage Information Network The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN; , RCIP) is a special operating agency within the federal Department of Canadian Heritage that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage institutions. It is based in Gatineau, Quebec, an ...

, and the

Virtual Museum of Canada Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) wi ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Black Canadian culture in Ontario Museums in Chatham-Kent Open-air museums in Canada History museums in Ontario Underground Railroad

Historic Site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

Historic buildings and structures in Ontario History of Black people in Canada African-American museums in Canada Museums established in 1940 Ontario Heritage Trust African-American monuments and memorials Harriet Beecher Stowe