Coloured Folk

Remembering the 15 former slaves welcomed to Buxton, Ontario at the end of the 1840's. Eliza, Amelia, Mollie, Sarah, Isaiah, Harriet, Solomon, Jacob, Talbert, Peter, Fanny, Benjamin, Robert, Stephen and Emeline. The Elgin Settlement, also known as Buxton, was one of four organized Black settlements developed in Southwestern Ontario in the mid-1800s. Established in 1849 by Reverend William King, the Elgin Settlement was one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad. Today, the settlement is a national historic site within the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. It was named in honour of Lord Elgin, governor general of Upper Canada. The name “Buxton” paid tribute to Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a...View all