East Preston
East Preston, CanadaNS Archives document: William Riley, with his daughter Rose standing behind him in the doorway, Cherry Brook http://ow.ly/hgL6L Eleven kilometers east of Dartmouth are the communities of Cherry Brook/Lake Loon, North Preston, and East Preston, which were once included within the British Township of Preston. Approximately 150 Black Loyalist families were among the first settlers, followed by the Jamaican Maroons and then the Black Refugees from the War of 1812. Although the majority of the first two groups, the Black Loyalists and the Jamaican Maroons, left Nova Scotia and relocated in Sierra Leone in West Africa, descendants of these groups still reside within these three communities. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Truro
Truro, CanadaNS Archives document: "Edwin Howard Borden (1869-1953)" http://ow.ly/hgYz8 African Nova Scotian residents are located in three main areas. The residents of Upper/Lower Ford Street (“the Marsh”) were descendants of Black Loyalists and refugees. Young Street (“the Hill”) has people from a number of different cultural and ethnic diversities. Black Loyalist descendants make up the vast majority of people in the third area, West Prince Street (“the Island”). Truro is also the birthplace of world-renowned contralto Portia White (1911–1968). To support herself while taking music lessons at the Halifax Conservatory she taught school in Africville and Lucasville. Her national debut occurred in 1941 at the Eaton Auditorium in Toronto, and her international debut came at the Town Hall in New York in 1944. Ms. White considered the highlight of her career to be a Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of Confederation Centre in Charlottetown in 1964. One critic commented that Ms. White “has a magnificent vocal instrument [and] sufficient musicianship and intelligence to do what she wishes with it, [her voice possesses] a purity of tonal quality the like of which one encounters all too seldom.” A monument commemorating Portia White stands on the grounds of the Zion Baptist Church. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Hassett
Hassett, CanadaWeymouth Falls / Southville (Danvers) / Hassett NS Archives document: Joe Hartnet and Sam Langford with Lynch's Shows http://ow.ly/hgLzO Highway 101, Route 340, Southville Road Distance from Metro Halifax 269 km (2 hr 50 min) Settled in 1784, Weymouth Falls is the birthplace of legendary boxer Sam Langford, the “Boston Terror” (1881–1956). At age 15 he made his boxing debut in his adopted home of Boston. Only 18 months later he defeated the World Lightweight Champion, Joe Gans. In 1906 Langford took on the Negro Heavyweight Champion, Jack Johnson, in a non-title fight. Although the victory for this battle went to Johnson, Langford earned the respect of Johnson and as a result he would never give Langford a rematch or allow him to fight for his heavyweight title. At 5’6”, having an arm span over 6 feet and a fist that packed a pulverizing punch, Langford was a formidable opponent. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, a year after his election into the Ring Magazine’s Boxing Hall of Fame. He was the first non-champion ever to be so honoured. In 1972, Weymouth Falls erected a plaque to his memory in its community centre. And in 1996, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recognized his contribution to Canadian history by rating Langford as one of the top ten boxers of the 20th century. You can view the Sam Langford Commemorative Plaque along Weymouth Falls Road near the centre. Southville claims as its own noted African Nova Scotian artist Harold Cromwell. Born in Southville in 1919, Cromwell is considered by some to be one of the most important folk artists in Nova Scotia. For over 40 years Cromwell captured daily life in Weymouth and Weymouth Falls. Several of his works are on display at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
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Digby
Digby, CanadaNS Archives: "Return of schools in the County of Digby for the year ended the 30th Nov. 1838" http://ow.ly/hg2Sw Conway/Jordantown/Acaciaville (Digby Area) Present-day Digby was first known as Brindleytown. Thomas Peters was a community leader in the Digby area whose influence also extended throughout Nova Scotia and into New Brunswick. Born in Africa, enslaved in North Carolina, Peters escaped to Nova Scotia as part of the Black Loyalist migration. He was instrumental in making the Sierra Leone experience a reality. Peters had previously petitioned the British government to stand by their promise to allot appropriately sized land lots to Black Loyalists and former Black soldiers. Having witnessed no change for the better in government allotment procedures, Peters continued his campaign against the government. He was given three options, which included relocation for those willing to move to Sierra Leone. In January 1792, Peters, along with about 1,200 other African Nova Scotians, set out for Sierra Leone, West Africa Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Shelburne
Shelburne, CanadaNS Archives document: "Una Gibson, Shelburne" http://ow.ly/hgXFq Under the leadership of Col. Stephen Blucke, of the all-Black regiment the Black Pioneers, the land for the settlement of Port Roseway (present-day Shelburne) was cleared. Colonel Blucke also oversaw the design and building of the town. Blucke and the other Black Loyalists were not permitted to live in the town and were instead restricted to the outskirts of the surrounding area; they established the community of Birchtown. Among those Loyalists was David George, the first Black Baptist pastor/minister in Canada. His Shelburne Baptist Church is the second-oldest Baptist Church in Canada, and his ministry marked the beginning of the Black Baptist Church in Canada. Reverend George’s preaching style attracted both Black and White followers. Born in the then British colony of Virginia, Reverend George came to Nova Scotia as a Black Loyalist who had supported the side of the British against the United States during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). When it became clear that the British Government was not going to honour its commitment and promises to the Black residents, a petition was delivered to the British monarch by Thomas Peters and, as a result, almost half of the African Nova Scotian population relocated to Sierra Leone in West Africa. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Pictou
Pictou, CanadaNS Archives document: "Bill of sale for slave 'Abram', recorded at the Colchester County Registry of Deeds" http://ow.ly/hgXiQ In the 1760s, enslaved Africans arrived with Philadelphia Planters in the Pictou area and settled on what became known as the Philadelphia Grant. During World War I, Canadian Blacks were initially rejected at enlistment offices across the country. In response to protest, in July 1916 the Canadian military authorized the formation of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)—Canada’s only segregated Black unit. Originally headquartered in Pictou, the Battalion was moved to Truro later that year. After Armistice on November 11, 1918, the unit returned from its tour of duty overseas. The No. 2 Construction Battalion was officially disbanded on September 3, 1920. The building that once housed the Battalion no longer remains. A monument commemorating this historic site was later erected. A ceremony paying tribute to these brave souls is held every year in the month of July at the deCoste Centre. The 20th anniversary of this event takes place in 2013. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Mabou
Mabou, CanadaHere is a rare thing indeed—a monument for a former slave, one of Mabou’s first settlers! Pegg, as she was called, was born into slavery in Georgia, USA, around 1770. She came to Nova Scotia with a Loyalist family in 1784. Pegg died in 1815, a free woman, and was buried in the Mabou First Settlers Graveyard on the Rankinville Road. A monument to her memory was erected in 1999 by the descendants of the family who had enslaved her. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Gibson Woods
Gibson Woods, CanadaOnce known as “Gentlemen’s Bridge,” Gibson Woods was renamed after the influential Gibson family who settled in the region. Early documents record a Black settler by the name of George Gibson purchasing forty acres of land in 1804 for a king’s fortune of 40 pounds. Gibson died in 1847 at a healthy 93 years of age. It is believed that Gibson was a Black Loyalist. You can find Gibson Woods Community Centre and Gibson Woods United Baptist Church near Centreville. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Lincolnville
Lincolnville, CanadaFormerly known as Little Tracadie, on the border were lands settled by “Persons of Colour” following the Loyalist influx. Presently a farming and fishing community, it is served by the Lincolnville Community Centre and the Tracadie United Baptist Church. The Lincolnville School, one of the last segregated schools in Nova Scotia, closed in 1984. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Monastery
Monastery, CanadaFirst settlers to this region were Black Loyalists. In 1787, Thomas Brownspriggs and 74 other Black Loyalist families were granted 3,000 acres of land in what is known today as East Tracadie, Antigonish County. This land grant, one of the earliest and largest parcels of land actually granted to Nova Scotia’s Black settlers, lies on the east side of (Big) Tracadie Harbour near an area also settled by Acadians. Make your way to Barrio Beach and look upon the waters of St. George’s Bay where some of the people fished to maintain a livelihood. Along the East Tracadie Road you can turn onto a small road that leads to Little Tracadie, present-day Linwood, another area where “People of Colour” were settled. Coming out of East Tracadie, cross into the rolling countryside of Rear Monastery. This region, and cross-country to Guysborough on the Marine Drive, is well known for producing good fiddlers, like Joe Izzard and George Reddick, who crafted his own fiddle and played for the Queen. Joe Izzard’s fiddle is on display at the Black Cultural Centre. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Manchester
Manchester, CanadaNear Guysborough you will also find this area, which was once settled by Black Loyalist descendants. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Three Mile Plains
Three Mile Plains, CanadaEarly enslaved African settlers arrived with New England Planters from Rhode Island, who took over lands following the expulsion of the Acadians (1755). This area of Nova Scotia is known for its gypsum mining and for being the birthplace of Commonwealth and Canadian welterweight boxing champion Clyde Gray in the 1970s. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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