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Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

African-American monuments and memorialsBlack Canadian culture in OntarioBlack Canadian museumsHarriet Beecher StoweHistoric buildings and structures in Ontario
History museums in OntarioHistory of Black people in OntarioMuseums established in 1940Museums in Chatham-KentOntario Heritage TrustOpen-air museums in OntarioUncle Tom's CabinUnderground Railroad
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The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History (French: Musée Josiah Henson l'histoire des Afro-Canadiens) is an open-air museum in Dresden, Ontario, Canada, that documents the life of Josiah Henson, the history of slavery, and the Underground Railroad. The historic site is situated on the grounds of the former Dawn settlement established by Henson; a runaway slave, abolitionist, and minister. Through his autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself, he served as the inspiration for the title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The 2-hectare (5-acre) 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 in 2005.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History
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N 42.583333333333 ° E -82.197222222222 °
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Freedom Road 29200
N0P 1M0
Ontario, Canada
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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 designed to provide a general education and teacher training. For a short period it was a manual labour school. It was taken over by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1849. The school closed in 1868. Its site is now encompassed by the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History (formerly Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site).The British-American Institute also served as a model for subsequent Black-led educational efforts in Canada, including the community-based Dawn Settlement School and the Chatham Mission School. Its curriculum combined classical education with vocational training, and the school played a key role in shaping early Black Canadian intellectual and social leadership. The British American Institute was a pioneering Black Canadian educational institution founded in 1842 in Dresden, Ontario, by Josiah Henson as part of the Dawn Settlement. It was one of the first vocational schools in Canada to serve formerly enslaved African Americans and their descendants who had fled the United States via the Underground Railroad. The school offered both general academic instruction and practical training in agriculture and trades. It was briefly operated by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society before its closure in 1868. The institute laid the foundation for later Black-led educational efforts in Ontario, and its legacy is now preserved through the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History.

Dawn Mills, Ontario
Dawn Mills, Ontario

Dawn Mills is a small, unincorporated community in southwestern Ontario, Canada, part of the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It is in the north-central portion of the municipality, located a short distance from the town of Dresden. In 1837, William Taylor and James Smith erected a saw, grist and wool mill on the banks of the Sydenham River in Camden Township of Kent County, Ontario near Dresden, Ontario. The mills were welcomed by residents at Dawn Mills who previously had to transport their produce for milling to Detroit by canoe. An early road was built here near the Sydenham River which connected the mill settlements. The town grew to six streets, three hotels, church and a store. The population was around 100. In the 1860s a railway system was constructed in southern Ontario. Stations were built, and tracks were laid at the bigger (and also purpose-established) towns. As had many other communities the region, Dawn Mills lost industries to competition from larger milling enterprises elsewhere. By the early 1900s Dawn Mills became a ghost town. The post office closed in 1918. The church in Dawn Mills still stands, purchased by a Mennonite congregation in the 1990s. The building was built as a Methodist church. It became a United Church and part of the Dawn Mills Pastoral Charge (comprising Dawn Mills, Wabash and Lindsay Road United Churches) in 1925, after church union. The charge was discontinued in 1968, and the building was sold to Dawn Mills community members for $1. The Dawn Mills Good Will Workers held regular meetings and social events there for a number of years. The hall was also rented out for family birthday parties, community wedding showers, etc. The Old Colony Mennonite Church first rented, and later purchased the church building. The original stained glass windows, donated by the Elgie and the Holmes families, were removed. The general store and post office is now a home, as well as the church manse. The community is mainly farm-related now, and several residents including the Elgie family have tried to maintain the history of the Dawn Mills community.