It's a rare honour for the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum.
It is now a part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom through the U.S. National Park Service.
"It is a network that's made up of almost 800 organizations or sites that are all connected to the Underground Railroad," said Buxton Curator Michelle Robbins. "It has sites through the U.S., Virgin Islands, Canada, and we are the second Canadian site to be listed on this Network to Freedom."
The other Canadian site is Salem Chapel in St. Catharines.
This means the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum is listed on the website for the U.S. National Park Service under the Underground Railroad Network. (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/index.htm)
"It's nice to be able to be part of that because we have a lot of visitors from the United States that are coming, but not a lot of people know that we exist, and in Canada as well," said Robbins. "So I think it's an opportunity for people to learn about Black History in Canada, and to learn about the sites here as well."
It's been a process for the Buxton Site. Robbins said they applied to be a part of the network before the pandemic, but COVID-19 stalled the application process for a few years.
"They contacted us, maybe a year ago, and said, 'Hey, let's get this application back up and running,' so we did that. Sent them all the information that they required and requested," said Robbins."Then it was kind of a stall for a few months, and they just gave us a call in November and let us know."
Robbins hopes it also helps to highlight Chatham-Kent's rich Black history with the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History in Dresden, and the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society & Black Mecca Museum in Chatham.
"It was a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it to be part of this network. Highlighting all of these incredible places across the world that are connected to the Underground Railroad, and especially for us in Chatham-Kent, having such rich Black history here," said Robbins.
Founded in 1849 as the Elgin Settlement, Buxton became one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad. Freedom seekers could own land, attend school, build community, and live free.
In addition to the Buxton Museum, there are three authentic historic structures: The 1852 Colbert-Henderson Log Cabin, the 1853 Abraham Dora Shadd Barn, and the 1861 S.S. # 13 Buxton Schoolhouse.
Robbins added that a plaque will be unveiled at the Buxton site at a later date.
