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HerAA ippuubblliitccaattiioonna ooff tthhee g OOnntteaarriioo HHMeerriittaaggee FFoouunnddaattiioonn ••a Volumet 3 Isstue 1 ers Inside Uncle Tom’s Cabin In this issue Hurricane Hazel 50 years after I The heritage of faith I Gifts of nature www.heritagefdn.on.ca Feature Story A message from The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander, Chairman Inside U ncle Tom’s Cabin, Page 2 The Pangnirtung Whaling Station is one of the featured sites during Since becoming Chairman of the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 2004, I have Arctic Adventures 2005 Adventure Canada’s 2005 Arctic trips. developed an increased awareness of our province’s unique past and our shared heritage. I now look at buildings differently. I notice more commemora - tive plaques as I tour the province. And I marvel at the indelible beauty of our landscapes. This is our heritage – a precious inheritance that must be pre - served and protected. This commitment, however, must be strengthened. Every day, we hear from concerned citizens – friends and neighbours – who want to know how we can help them preserve heritage in their own communities. Statistics show that 23 per cent of historic buildings across Canada were demolished between 1970 and 2000. This figure is staggering. We are certainly encouraged by the commitment of community groups across Ontario in lending their support to heritage preserva - tion. But, at the critical decision-making level, not all the tools of preservation are being used. And although heritage awareness increases each year – Doors Open Ontario, as one example, showcases Heritage Explore the Canadian Arctic and its unique heritage sites. Call 416-325-5000 today to order your Arctic Adventures hundreds of heritage sites across the province – we must remain vigilant. Matters 2005 brochure, or visit www.adventurecanada.com for more details. We need to find better ways to convey our message to more people and to sing the praises of those Heritage Matters is published in English and French and has a combined who work tirelessly to preserve their own communities. That is why we have decided to change this circulation of 10,500. Some of the fascinating heritage sites participating on these tours include: news forum. Heritage Matters debuted in 1994 as a newsletter that provided readers with information Advertising rates: on the Foundation’s events and programs. Certainly, this new magazine will continue to update you Business card $100 • Pannirtuluq (Pangnirtung): the Whaling Station features an interpretive display of cultural and industrial history on the Foundation’s activities, but it will also provide you with timely heritage-related stories, engage 1/4 page $225 1/2 page $500 • Beechey Island: the graves of explorer Sir John Franklin’s men, buried in 1845 communities in more meaningful ways and reach a new audience. Full page $900 • Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet): the Nattinnak Centre, poised on a cliff overlooking the inlet, is home to an Prices do not include GST extraordinary collection of oral histories, vintage photographs and an impressive wildlife and cultural diorama I know that you and your family will enjoy this new magazine. For information contact: Ontario Heritage Foundation These sites – and others – open their doors in 2005 to highlight the extraordinary natural, cultural and artistic 10 Adelaide Street East, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario traditions of the Canadian Arctic. M5C 1J3 Telephone: 416-325-5015 Fax: 416-314-0744 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.heritagefdn.on.ca © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2005 patricia tolmie © Ontario Heritage Foundation, 2005 editor writer Photos © Ontario Heritage Foundation, Museum • Archival Contents 2005, unless otherwise indicated. • experienced, sensitive, meticulous Conservation Materials Produced by the Ontario Heritage and Supplies • special interest in heritage issues FEATURE STORY Foundation (an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Culture). • clients include Ontario Heritage Foundation Inside U ncle Tom’s Cabin . 2 46 Years TELLING ONTARIO’S STORIES This publication is printed on Canadian Hurricane Hazel – 50 Years later . 4 recycled paper using vegetable Owned & Operated 416-686-7856 [email protected] oil-based inks. Help us protect our ™ FOUNDATION NEWS environment by passing along or Tel 1-800-268-2123 • Fax 1-800-871-2397 • Shop! www.carrmclean.ca Board appointments . 5 recycling this publication when you Olmsted gardens celebrated . 5 have no further need for it. It’s plaque season . 6 Aussi disponible en français Adventures in archaeology . 8 Doors Open Ontario . 8 The inclusion of any advertisement or insert in this publication does not imply or constitute PRESERVING THE PAST an endorsement or acceptance by the Province Starting from the ground up . 9 of Ontario of any of the advertisers, products FIELDWORK or services advertised. The Ontario Heritage Foundation is not responsible for errors, Gifts of nature – Donations preserve our natural heritage . 10 omissions or misrepresentations contained in WHAT’S ON any advertisement or insert. the shelf . the silver screen . the web . 12 Publication Agreement Number 1738690 E&OE ISSN 1198-2454 GUEST COLUMNIST 02/05 The Sharon Temple and the heritage of faith . 13 Inside Uncle Tom ’s Cabin By Wayne Kelly At a bend in the Sydenham River near the town of Dresden stands Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site. The museum – built on the site of the Black settlement that Rev. Josiah Henson founded in 1841 – preserves the settlement where Henson and his wife Nancy lived. Today, thousands of people make pilgrimages to Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site to discover more about our past. Anti- Slavery Society who ministered to Black He preached in the Dawn Settlement’s com - Canadians. Wilson introduced Henson to one munity church and served on the executive of his friends, James Canning Fuller, a Quaker committee of the Institute. from New York. With financial assistance The Dawn Settlement developed admin - from Wilson and a silent partner (probably istrative problems and in 1849 the British and Fuller), Henson purchased 200 acres Foreign Anti-Slavery Society took over its in Dawn Township to build a self-sufficient management. After the school closed in 1868, community for fugitives from slavery. the Dawn Settlement began to fade. Most res - The Dawn Settlement, as it was called, idents either returned to the United States centred on the British-American Institute – an where slavery had finally been abolished or all-ages manual school that trained teachers moved to other communities in Ontario. and provided a general education. The school Josiah and Nancy Henson, however, contin - opened in 1842 “to cultivate the entire being, ued to live in Dawn for the rest of their lives. and elicit the Throughout fairest and fullest his life, Henson In February 2005, an agreement was reached with the St. possible devel - was an impor - Clair Parks Commission and the Government of Ontario opment of the tant leader for to transfer ownership and operation of Uncle Tomʼs physical, intellec - Canada’s grow - © 2005 Ontario Tourism Cabin Historic Site to the Ontario Heritage Foundation. tual and moral ing Black com - Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site takes its congregations. Betrayed by his master, importation of slaves to the province. This powers,” and to provide Black Canadians with munity. He led a Black militia unit during the name from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s success - Henson was taken to New Orleans to be sold. meant that refugees from slavery were free as the skills they needed to prosper and to dis - Rebellion of 1837, advocated in support of lit - ful 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Henson escaped slavery by fleeing north - soon as they set foot in Ontario. By 1830, prove the racist beliefs of proponents of slavery eracy and education for Blacks, toured parts Cabin, featuring a character named Tom wards with his wife and four children using when Henson arrived, the Black community in who argued that Blacks were incapable of inde - of the United States and Britain to raise funds (loosely based on Josiah Henson). Henson’s the Underground Railroad, eventually cross - Upper Canada consisted of Black Loyalists pendent living. to support his activities and helped Black own story is told in his autobiography, first ing the Niagara River into Upper Canada (now who had fought for the British during the The Dawn Settlement grew to include Canadians to join the Union Army to fight y published in 1849. Ontario) on October 28, 1830. American Revolution, African American mills and a brickyard. Settlers cleared their against slavery during the American Civil War. r Josiah Henson was born into slavery on Upper Canada had become a haven for refugees from the War of 1812, and others. land and grew crops – mainly wheat, corn and Today, plaques from the Ontario Heritage o t June 15, 1789 near Port Tobacco in Charles Black refugees from the United States after Henson started his life in Canada work - tobacco – and exported locally grown black Foundation and the Historic Sites and s County, Maryland. As a slave, Henson experi - 1793 when Lieutenant-Governor John Graves ing as a farm labourer and a lay preacher in walnut lumber to Britain and the United Monuments Board of Canada commemo rate enced horrifying conditions. He was separat - Simcoe passed an “An Act to prevent the fur - the Waterloo area. In 1834, he moved to States. At its peak, about 500 people lived at the remarkable contributions of this man. e r ed from his parents, sold twice and maimed ther introduction of Slaves, and to limit the Colchester with 12 friends and established a the Dawn Settlement. Henson purchased 200 u for life after being beaten. In 1829, Henson Term of Contracts for Servitude within this Black settlement on land rented from the gov - acres of land adjacent to the community, Wayne Kelly is the Plaque Program t arranged to purchase his freedom with Province." Although the legislation didn’t free ernment.