Historic Sources

Hello Everyone,

This guest post is provided by Ontario Heritage Trust.

Join us for Emancipation Day at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site – an annual celebration of hope and freedom commemorating the end of slavery in the British Empire. This year is extra special as we unveil a new name that better reflects the true history of the site – don’t miss out!

Date: Saturday, July 30, 2022

Time: 10:30am to 2:30pm

Location: Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site
29251 Freedom Rd., Dresden ON N0P 1M0 (formerly 29251 Uncle Tom’s Road)

Everyone is welcome for this free, fun and educational day featuring music, poetry and presentations. Seating is available or you can bring your own lawn chair. 

Can’t join in person? We’ll be sharing a livestream on the Ontario Heritage Trust’s social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

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Speakers and Performers:

Debut of new name – Join us for the unveiling of the new site name at Noon 

Tracy Cain – Gospel musician Tracy Cain is a fifth-generation Black Canadian with roots in North Buxton, St. Catharines and the Queen’s Bush settlement. Her warm, smooth vocal stylings are influenced by gospel, jazz and R&B. 

Amaria Phillips – Amaria Phillips is the co-founder and President of Concordia University’s Black Student Union. She’ll present two original works of poetry. 

Terrence Vick – Great-great-grandson of Josiah Henson, Reverend Terrence Vick will bring remarks on behalf of the Henson family. 

Kwame Delfish – An artist and designer commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mint to design the Underground Railroad commemorative coin for Black History Month 2022, Delfish will speak about his creative process and his work in commemorating Black history and the Underground Railroad. 

Susan Cooke Soderberg – A public historian and freelance writer from Maryland, Soderberg is the author of an upcoming biography entitled The Real Josiah Henson: One Man’s Journey from Enslavement to Celebrity. 

Heritage Singers Canada – A crowd favourite, Heritage Singers Canada return to Emancipation Day to conduct a musical journey from slavery to freedom. 

An Enduring Dawn: Dresden’s Black presence in the 19th century – A photographic exhibit highlighting the role people of African descent have played in the early development of the town of Dresden. 

Culture Craft – An art activity for kids. 

Lunch available for purchase, with food and desserts from Dresden Sidestreets Youth Centre. 

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About the Ontario Heritage Trust

The Ontario Heritage Trust (the Trust) is an agency of the Government of Ontario. The Trust conserves, interprets and shares Ontario’s heritage. We conserve provincially significant cultural and natural, tangible and intangible heritage, interpret Ontario’s history, celebrate its diversity and educate Ontarians of its importance in our society. The Trust envisions an Ontario where we conserve, value and share the places and landscapes, histories, traditions and stories that embody our heritage, now and for future generations.