Honouring Black history
along the Niagara River

This is the site of the former Erie Beach Hotel which hosted the inaugural meetings of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), originally called the Niagara Movement. In July 1905, W.E.B. Du Bois and 28 men from fourteen states met at the hotel to write the group’s founding principles. The organization aimed to further African Americans’ fight for civil rights by building upon the progress gained since the American Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

Pictured: Founding members of the Niagara Movement superimposed over an image showing Niagara Falls in the background, 1905

Location: Waverly Beach Park is located along the recreation trail just east of the beach parking lot. (Helena Street, Fort Erie, Ontario)

Niagara’s Freedom Trail honours the thousands of African American slaves that found freedom in Canada. The Underground Railroad aided an estimated 40,000 African American slaves in their escape to the more tolerant northern American states, or ultimately to the freedom of Canada. Fort Erie, Ontario became a popular crossing for freedom seekers because of its proximity to Buffalo, New York. Ferry operators aided fugitive slaves and used a secret system of codes and symbols to distinguish bona fide passengers from potential spies.

Location: Look for the plaque located on a rock next to the Niagara River Parkway Trail. (108 Lakeshore Road, Fort Erie, Ontario)

Bertie Hall was constructed circa 1933 by local businessman, War of 1812 veteran and colourful entrepreneur, William Forsyth Sr. The Forsyth family constructed a large dock on the riverbank, where they operated a ferry across the river and this location served as a stagecoach stop and later as a hotel in the 1870s. The transportation routes along the Niagara River corridor became important for travellers to the area, including freedom seekers arriving on the Underground Railroad.

Location: 16 Phipps Street, Fort Erie, Ontario, L2A 2V2 (located on the corner of the Niagara Parkway and Phipps Street (42.931850, -78.914973)

In 1837 the Canadian Rebellion, led by William Mackenzie, ended in a retreat to Navy Island for Mackenzie and some of his troops. A small steamer used to supply the rebels, called the Caroline, was discovered by the British. They attacked the ship, set it on fire and sent it over the Falls. In the process, only one person perished – an African American sailor by the name of Amos Durfee. At the same time, companies of Black Canadian militiamen commanded by Black officers were raised to patrol the Niagara River. One of the companies was commanded by Capt. Josiah Henson, the same Josiah Henson whose life story influenced the anti-slavery book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. As the threat of rebel attacks continued, more British Army regulars were brought into Upper Canada. The Black troops were used to capture the growing number of British Army deserters.

Location: Navy Island can be seen from the Canadian shoreline but is not accessible. It can be seen from the Chippawa Battlefield or Legends Restaurant at 9561 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario, L2E 6S6 (43.0552189, -79.0158706)

Born on a Maryland plantation around 1822, Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in 1849 to become a leading abolitionist and the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad. Known as “the Moses of her People,” she guided thousands of enslaved African Americans to freedom. When the US Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 led to the arrest and kidnapping of runaway slaves and free blacks living in the free states, Tubman extended her route to Canada, where slavery had been abolished in 1834, and established her base of operations in nearby St. Catharines.

Location: Look for plaques south of the entrance the White Water Walk, on the river side. (4330 River Rd, Niagara Falls, Ontario)

“When the War of 1812 began, people of African descent in the Niagara peninsula feared an American invasion. They were anxious to preserve their freedom and prove their loyalty to Britain. Many joined the militia, others offered to raise their own militia company. Authorities responded by forming a ‘Colored Corps’ of about thirty men commanded by white officers. Based in the Niagara region throughout the war, it fought at Queenston Heights in October 1812 and at the siege of Fort George in May 1813. The corps was disbanded soon after the peace, but had nonetheless set a precedent. Black units were a feature of the Canadian military until the First World War.”

Location: 14184 Niagara Pkwy, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0. Located near path just North East of Brock’s Monument. (43.160318, -79.052636)

Home of the Louis Roy press, the oldest wooden press in Canada, and one of only seven left in the world today. This press was used to print Ontario’s first newspaper “The Upper Canada Gazette or American Oracle”. It was also used to print some of Canada’s earliest laws, including the 1793 Act Against Slavery. This act did not free the enslaved but it prevented enslaved people from being brought into or sent out of Upper Canada. It also freed children born to enslaved mothers at the age of 25. It was this act that would slowly work towards the elimination of slavery within Upper Canada.

Location: 1 Queenston St, Queenston, Ontario L0S 1L0. The Louis Roy press and copy of the Act Against Slavery can be found inside the Mackenzie Printery Museum. (43.1623859, -79.0535945)

It was here in Niagara-on-the-Lake where John Graves Simcoe, Lt Governor of Upper Canada, made the first legislative steps in the Act Against Slavery of 1793.

Location: The Simcoe memorial is located at Navy Hall in Niagara-on-the-Lake (305 Ricardo Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario)

Constructed between 1814 and 1816, Fort Mississauga was built directly across from its American counterpart, Fort Niagara. This fort was built to watch the mouth of the river and act as a replacement for Fort George located further upstream. This fort was constructed by British forces and in large part by the “Colored Corps”. Due to their background in hands-on labour, they were deemed acceptable engineers by the army which is why much of the construction fell to them. Although this Fort never saw action with the War of 1812 coming to an end during its construction, it continued to play a vital role during the Rebellion in 1837 and the Fenian Raids in 1866. After that time, the fort held minimal military value and was used as part of Camp Niagara to train troops.

Location: 223 Queen Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0. The fort can be located at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf course and can be accessed by the public on foot. (43.2615315, -79.0770005)

“The second courthouse and jail of the Niagara District was erected at this site in 1817. Several high-profile cases were tried here, including that of African-American freedom seeker Solomon Moseby. In the spring of 1837, Moseby stole his enslaver’s horse and escaped, settling in Niagara. A few weeks later, his new-found freedom was threatened when his enslaver arrived with an arrest warrant and extradition papers. Moseby was detained at this jail while awaiting an extradition decision. Over 200 Black community supporters mobilized and camped outside to protest Moseby’s possible return to slavery and harsh punishment in the United States. When the extradition order was given, the protestors obstructed Moseby’s removal. Two Black residents, Herbert Holmes and Jacob Green, were killed. Moseby escaped, fled to England and later returned to live in Niagara. For African Canadians, this was not simply about justice for one man. If Moseby’s enslaver had succeeded, they could all be vulnerable to extradition and re-enslavement. This incident helped to establish Canadian extradition and refugee policies that are still used to today.”

Location: At the site of the former complex, Rye and Cottage streets, Niagara-on-the-Lake. (43.2430412, -79.0811757)

Harriet Tubman plaque: “When I found I had crossed, there was such a glory over everything I felt I was in Heaven. I am free and they shall be free. I shall bring them here”

Location: 325 King Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0. (43.252096, -79.0735904)

“Inspired by the abolitionist sentiment emerging in the late 18th century, Lieutenant-Governor J.G. Simcoe made Upper Canada the first British territory to legislate against slavery, which had defined the conditions of life for most people of African ancestry in Canada since the early 17th century. The Act of 1793 did not free a single slave, but prevented their importation and freed the future children of slaves at age twenty-five. Faced with growing opposition in the colonies, slavery declined. The Imperial Act of 1833 finally abolished slavery in the British territories in 1834.”

Location: Also located at the Burial Ground on Mississauga Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake, between Mary and John Street. (43.2522050, -79.0843638)