Learn about Oakville's early Black community, and the ties to the Underground Railway which helped many enslaved people escape from the United States to Canada in the 19th century.

The Town of Oakville was the gateway to Canada for many African Americans, as early as the 1830s. William Chisholm had purchased the land around Sixteen Mile Creek in 1827 and in 1834 the Town of Oakville became an official Port of Entry into Canada. Ships from Oakville sailed throughout the Great Lakes and beyond, and many slaves were assisted by ship captains to stowaway in grain vessels. Captain Robert Wilson, brought many African Americans to Oakville concealed aboard his ships. For years following the American Civil War (1861- 1865), African Americans would come to George's Square in Oakville to celebrate Emancipation Day, and those who had been helped by "Captain Robert" would visit him at his nearby "Mariners Home," which still stands at 279 Lawson St.

James Wesley Hill escaped slavery in the United States, and helped conduct the Underground Railroad in Oakville. Originally from Maryland, he lived on 457 Maple Grove Drive. He went back and forth between Canada and the USA, helping over 700 people escape slavery. Today, he is remembered in Montgomery County, Maryland as "Canada Jim". Once settled in Oakville, he married Adeline Shipley, and they had three children: Marjorie Hill, Ruth Hill, and Frank Hill. James became a strawberry farmer, and employed many of the people he helped escape slavery. His children lived in Oakville for their entire lives.

On November 24, 2019, town councillors Ray Chisholm, Cathy Duddeck, and Natalia Lishchyna joined Andrew Tyrrell of the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton and Lorraine Unett and Arlene Duncan, descendants of Jeremiah Adams. They gathered in Burnet Park for the unveiling of a heritage plaque entitled, ‘Burnet Street and Oakville’s Black Community’. 

The plaque commemorates Oakville’s Black history and community members and tells the story of Samuel Adams, who became a prominent member of Oakville’s Black community after settling here in the early 1850s, and the history of the home that once sat at 104 Burnet Street, owned by Jeremiah Adams (Samuel’s son). Samuel had been freed from slavery and moved to the Oakville area from Baltimore with his family in 1851. He established a successful blacksmith practice in Bronte and used his wealth to help other refugees from slavery make a home for themselves in Upper Canada. He was also integral in the creation of the Turner African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1891, which was a large part of Oakville’s Black faith community and a hub of social activity. 

As an official Port of Entry into Canada, Oakville was one of the major destinations along the Underground Railroad and the first glimpse of freedom for many enslaved African-Americans who had escaped or been freed. The Underground Railroad saw over 40,000 AfricanAmerican people migrating from the United States to Canada between 1850 and 1860 alone. 

Jeremiah was a dedicated member of the community who worked at the Chisholm family’s mill and volunteered at the church. In 1909, Jeremiah and his wife Eliza purchased the home at 104 Burnet Street and lived there for nearly 40 years, raising five children together. Shortly after celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary, Jeremiah and Eliza both passed away in 1948. The home was left to one of their daughters, Nina Adams, and was then passed onto other members of the Wayner, Duncan and Skeete families — descendants of Jeremiah. The home remained in possession of Jeremiah’s family and descendants for over 100 years before it was demolished in 2016. 

Credit: Town of Oakville Heritage Update 2021

About 1860, Samuel Adams and his brother-in-law, Rev. William Butler (ordained in the A.M.E. church) set about organizing an estimated three or four hundred fugitives in the vicinity. After many set-backs, suitable land was acquired on the present site for a church. The corner-stone for the building was placed in 1891. On January 1, 1892, the doors of Turner Chapel A.M.E. church were flung open for service under the leadership of Rev. William Roberts. A salute was tendered to Bishop Henry McNeal Turner the first black chaplain in Armed Forces of the U.S.A, and a dedicated community worker, when his name was applied to this sanctuary.

Credit: The Oakville Historical Society

Benedict Duncan, William Holland and Lloyd Brown are remembered among the early African American citizens of Oakville. Benedict Duncan had walked away from his owners, who were experiencing financial difficulty, and made his way to Oakville on his own from Maryland. He found work as the sexton of St. John's United Church.

Christopher Columbus Lee was employed for many years by R.K. Chisholm as the butler at "Erchless" - the 1856 Chisholm family home on Navy Street, which operates today as a part of the Oakville Museum.

William Strothers made brooms for a living and was also employed as the sexton at a local church. It was noted that he attended the door on Sundays in his frock coat and received the worshipers with "the courtly manners of the southern gentleman".

John Wesley Wallace was the bell-boy at the Oakville House in the 1880s. One night he noticed smoke across the street and gave the alarm. The fire eventually impacted the entire block, but the early warning had allowed for the safety of the inhabitants and the safe removal of stock from the stores.