Black Loyalist Heritage Centre & Society
Shelburne, CanadaThe home of the largest free black settlement in the 1780’s where people voted with their feet for freedom. This unique historical site is nestled in beautiful Birchtown Bay on the western shores of Shelburne Harbour, the third largest natural harbour in the world. It’s a history few in the region know much about. Come and enjoy a guided tour, search for your ancestral roots and learn about these courageous Nova Scotians.
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Africville
Africville, CanadaNS Archives: Africville online exhibit http://ow.ly/hg35O Africville was settled in about the 1840s by people from the Black Refugee communities of Hammonds Plains and Preston. William Brown Sr and William Arnold purchased the land in 1848; the first church congregation (later Seaview African United Baptist) was established in 1849; and an elementary school was opened in 1883. Although geographically a part of the City of Halifax, Africville was always a separate community, with a largely African-Nova Scotian population. Africville struggled for survival throughout its 125-year history. It was divided by railway tracks and encroached upon by factories, sewage disposal pits, slaughter houses, and other non-residential development. The elementary school was closed in 1953 and the children were relocated to racially-integrated schools elsewhere in Halifax. In the mid-1950s, Halifax moved its large open civic dump to within one-half mile of Africville. The City considered Africville to be a suitable site for eventual industrial development, and did not extend water, sewer, police, and other municipal services to the community. In October 1962, the City decided to eliminate Africville and relocate its residents elsewhere in Halifax. The relocation was part of a broader program of "urban renewal" in Halifax, as in other North American cities, in the 1960s. The process of relocating Africville residents began in 1964; the demolition of the community was largely completed by the end of 1967. In early January 1970 the City bulldozed the building of the last Africville resident, who reluctantly agreed to sell his property to avoid expropriation. The land on which Africville stood is now part of Seaview Memorial Park, named in memory of Seaview African United Baptist Church. Africville was designated a national historic site in 1996 and a plaque was placed at the site in 2002. Source: African Nova Scotian Tourism Guide Historical Black Settlements in Nova Scotia (Google Map)
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Glace Bay Universal Negro Improvement Association
Glace Bay, CanadaDESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE The Glace Bay Universal Negro Improvement Association Hall is located on Jessome Street in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. The hall is long and narrow with a front door and a ramp leading to a back side door. Both the building and the land are included in the municipal designation. HERITAGE VALUE The Glace Bay Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Hall is valued for its associations with the history of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the Black community of Glace Bay; and as the current home to the UNIA Cultural Museum. The hall was built in 1918 in response to the movement started in 1914 by publisher and activist Marcus Garvey. Garvey, originally from Jamaica, became an internationally known promoter of social, political, and economic freedom for Blacks. In 1914 Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Jamaica. Soon associations were established throughout the United States and Canada. His philosophy is known of have influenced Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. There were once 1100 branches world wide, however approximately only 20 remain today. The hall in Glace Bay is the only one of the original halls remaining in Canada. Historically, the building served the needs of the UNIA and as a community centre for the Black residents of the Glace Bay area. Early in its existence the hall served as a hotel for workers who came from the West Indies to work at a near-by coal mine. Unable to afford a home of their own, as miners had to repay the costs of their travel to the mine company, the hall was a home for months and sometimes years to many Black miners. The building also served the spiritual needs for the Black community of Glace Bay as it held wakes and weddings. Since the 1920s, the hall as been the host to a series of annual events celebrating the accomplishments of Marcus Garvey. In recent years the building fell into disrepair; however it was saved from demolition. After extensive renovations, the Glace Bay UNIA operates the hall as a cultural museum dedicated to African Canadians in Cape Breton. The hall also continues to serve as a gathering place and community centre where regular classes and events are held. The building no longer retains many of its original architectural elements; however it nonetheless continues to play an important role in the community. Source: Cape Breton Regional Municipality; Municipal Heritage Files; Glace Bay UNIA Hall Source: http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9179
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Yarmouth County Museum & Archives
Yarmouth, CanadaThe Yarmouth County Museum and Archives is an award-winning, general history museum with an emphasis on Yarmouth's seafaring history. The museum houses a collection of over 20,000 artifacts, including ship portraits, nautical models, and costumes. The archives contain a wealth of genealogical research material, as well as historical documents from Yarmouth County. Source: http://www.novascotia.com/see-do/attractions/yarmouth-county-museum-archives/1403
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Halifax Citadel National Historic Destination
Halifax, CanadaCitadel Hill is one of the most visited historic sites in Canada. One of the entrances to the fortress is a gate called Maroon gate. The third version of the fortress was built by Maroons from Jamaica, some of whom went to Sierra Leone; others remained in Halifax. Source: https://blackhalifax.com/portfolio/the-maroons/
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African Bethel Cemetery
Greenville, CanadaDESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE The African Bethel Cemetery was the first burial ground established in the rural, predominantly Black community of Greenville, Nova Scotia. It is located on the south side of the Greenville Road about four tenths of a kilometre west of the Annis River bridge. Municipal heritage designation applies to the entire lot and the remaining markers.
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Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia
Cherry Brook, CanadaThe Society for the Protection and Preservation of Black Culture in Nova Scotia (better known as the Black Cultural Society) was incorporated as a charitable organization in 1977. The Society has 26 members on its Board of Directors, made up of representatives from various Black communities throughout Nova Scotia and one representative of the African United Baptist Association. The genesis of the Black Cultural Centre lay in a proposal put forward in 1972 by Reverend Dr. William Pearly Oliver for the creation of a Cultural Educational Centre to meet the needs and aspirations of the Black Communities of Nova Scotia. The sod turning ceremony took place on April 24, 1982. Seventeen months later, on September 17, 1983, the Centre officially opened. Many events have taken place at the Centre, such as cultural portrayals in the form of music, plays, concerts, as well as educational activities in the form of workshops, lectures and guided tours. Programs of the Black Cultural Centre extend beyond its doors to the broader community of Nova Scotia. This outreach is achieved through cultural events across Nova Scotia.
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Fort Anne National Historic Site of Canada
Annapolis Royal, CanadaImmerse yourself in the history of the region inside the Officers’ Quarters Museum. Use innovative technology to delve deeper into the social, cultural, and military stories of all peoples connected to this place, including Mi’kmaq, Scottish, French, British, Acadian, and African Nova Scotian.
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Greenville Church Cemetery
Dartmouth, CanadaDESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE The Greenville Church Cemetery was established in 1853 when the church it surrounds was built, though there are no remaining grave markers to visibly identify it as a burial ground. It is located on Greenville Road in the rural community of Greenville, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Municipal heritage designation applies to the entire lot surrounding the church. HERITAGE VALUE The Greenville Church Cemetery is valued as the burial ground associated with the Greenville African Baptist Church, a municipally and provincially registered heritage property, and as the burial site of more than seventy-five of the community’s residents. The village of Greenville was originally part of a larger community called Salmon River, and was where the majority of early Black residents in Yarmouth County first settled around 1830. There is little to immediately identify this site as a cemetery, as there are no grave markers remaining as visible evidence of its existence. Any markers there may have been were probably made of wood, and have long since disappeared. This burial ground was established in 1853, when the church it surrounds was built, however there are no written records indicating how many people were buried here between 1853 and 1891 when a local undertaking firm started keeping records. Only seventy-five names are known for burials between 1891 and 1960, and it is surmised that at least twice that many residents of the community were laid to rest here. Of the seventy-five whose names are known, thirty-six were children under the age of ten years, a testimony to the high mortality rate of children in the 1800s and early 1900s. The majority of the present day residents of the community of Greenville are descendants of the people buried here. The Greenville Church Cemetery covers approximately eight-thousand square metres of land and surrounds the Greenville African Baptist Church on the west, north and east sides. It is a grass covered area with only a small sign to the west of the church and its heritage property plaque on the east side of the church building identifying it as a cemetery. Source: Registered Heritage Property files: Greenville Church Cemetery; located at the Heritage Office, 400 Main Street, Yarmouth, NS B5A 1G2 Source: http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9290
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Birchtown School
Birchtown, CanadaDESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE The Birchtown School is a small, wood building located on a small loop road near the Birchtown waterfront. Built between 1830 and 1860, it now houses a museum dedicated to the history of Black Loyalists in the Birchtown, NS area. The provincial designation applies to the building and land.
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