How Loyalists brought African Americans — free and enslaved — to Upper Canada after 1783, and how Simcoe's 1793 Anti-Slavery Act made Ontario the 'Promised Land.'
Oakville's Black History
Halton Region has a rich history of Blacks in the community both early settlement and contemporary. The CCAH has and continues to work with historians and entrepreneurs to ensure that this history is not forgotten.
Black History Tour: Kerr Walking Tour
In partnership with the Oakville Public Library, Oakville Museum and Visit Oakville, join us for a guided walking tour of Kerr Village. Explore sites related to Oakville’s Black heritage. Registration links below.
Click here for map of Kerr Route.
Black History Tour: Bronte Bike Tour
In partnership with the Oakville Public Library, Oakville Museum and Visit Oakville, join us for a guided bike tour of Bronte Harbour. Explore sites related to Oakville’s Black heritage. Registration links below.
Click here for map of Bronte Route.
Legacy Voices Documentary
What is a legacy? It’s the story of your life, your accomplishments and your failures. It’s your home and your family. It’s what you leave behind to ensure future generations know the importance of what has been accomplished. Five voices describe their extraordinary journey of immigration and settlement in the Halton Region. Often the only Black families in their community, they found strength in overcoming racism and worked for changed. Halton Region has a rich history of Blacks in the community that should not be forgotten. This is the importance of leaving a legacy.
The CCAH presents a Falling Motion production featuring Edwin Terry, Pamela Chase, Percival Greenidge, Merle Ling, and Andrew Tyrrell. It is an official selection for four film festivals: Hamilton Film Festival – Canadian Market 2020; Canadian Diversity Film Festival 2020; Quinte Canadian Filmfest 2020; and Film for Peace 2020.
Legacy Voices 2 Documentary
Legacy Voices 2 New Generation showcases the Black experience through the firsthand accounts of four individuals as they discuss their experiences of living in the Halton Region and explore how they will leave a legacy. This is a follow-up to the award-winning documentary Legacy Voices.
Oakville Black History
© Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate, The Corporation of the Town of Oakville, 2000
The following information is reproduced from the display panels in the exhibit “Oakville’s Black History”, as written and designed by Deborah Hudson, Curator of Collections, Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate.
Underground Railway to Oakville
Oakville became a Port of Entry in 1834 and a gateway to Canada for African Americans escaping slavery, with Captain Robert Wilson among its notable conductors.
The Underground Railway
How the Underground Railroad moved African Americans from U.S. slavery to freedom in Canada, doubling Ontario's Black population after the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.
“Conductor” James Wesley Hill
Escaped slave James Wesley Hill — 'Canada Jim' — led 700–800 African Americans to Oakville via the Underground Railroad and helped build its strawberry industry.
Oakville’s First Black Entrepreneurs
Joe Wordsworth, John Cosley and other African American entrepreneurs who built early businesses in Oakville — from barber shops to patented inventions and newspapers.
Oakville’s Early Black Community
Early African American residents of Oakville — Benedict Duncan, Christopher Columbus Lee, William Strothers and John Wesley Wallace — and their role in the community.
Leaders in the Community
Samuel Adams and Rev. William Butler — Bronte's blacksmith and church leader — whose work led to the Turner African Methodist Episcopal Church in Oakville.
The Turner Chapel Community
The Turner Chapel community — Samuel Adams, the Butler and Duncan families — and their lasting influence on Oakville through the American Civil War and beyond.
The Nathaniel Dett Chorale
The Nathaniel Dett Chorale honours composer Nathaniel Dett (b. Drummondville, 1882) — Howard-awarded, performing at Carnegie Hall and before U.S. presidents.
The Turner African Methodist Episcopal Church
Built in 1891, Turner AME Church served Oakville and Bronte's Black community for nearly a century. It still stands at 37 Lakeshore Road West.
Links to Other Communities
John C. Holland, Bishop James Albert Johnson, and Sgt. Henry Thomas Shepherd — Oakville-rooted African Americans whose influence reached Hamilton and beyond.
The Duncan Family
The Duncan Family — Oakville's only family tracing directly to the Underground Railroad — their six children and their lasting contribution to the community.
Generations of Community Involvement
Olympic boxer Gene 'Clay' Bonner and performer Minerva Bonner brought African American excellence to Oakville from Montreal, shaping the community into the 1970s.
The Wayner Family
Lorenzo and Martha Wayner — a garbage collector turned Turner Chapel pastor — helped keep Oakville's Black church alive through the Great Depression.
Generations of Community Achievement
Lorenzo Wayner and Martha Johnson — whose work kept the Turner Chapel debt-free through the Great Depression — and the Wayner family's legacy of service in Oakville.