Block Settlements
Underground Railroad refugees did not receive free land: most rural settlement schemes involved a block purchase of land, often by a church mission. This land was then sold in small lots on manageable terms to families who wished to farm. Very few of these schemes were adequately financed or managed, and few achieved real viability. What they did contribute was the chance for a few determined families to establish themselves on a plot of land, despite the fact that the expected settlement may never have fully materialized around them. The John Freeman Walls Historic Site at Puce preserves a homestead from one such settlement scheme. Major block settlement schemes included Wilberforce, near Lucan; the Sandwich Mission near Windsor; the Elgin Settlement at Buxton; and the Dawn Settlement at Dresden. Of these, the most successful was the Elgin (Buxton) Settlement, established in 1849 by fifteen former slaves under the leadership of a Presbyterian minister, Reverend King. Assisted by more established members of the Underground Railroad community and by the Free Presbyterian Church of Canada, its hardworking pioneers created a successful farming community on the shores of Lake Erie. The community survives and has been designated a national historic site of Canada. Josiah Henson, the co-founder of the Dawn settlement and inspiration

for Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, has been designated a person of national historic significance. He is commemorated at Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site near the original site of the Dawn Settlement at Dresden, Ontario.

Integrated Settlement
On arriving in Upper Canada, most of the new immigrants headed for centres of employment near the border. Smaller towns and villages, at first sympathetic to the plight of the refugees, soon became alarmed at their growing numbers. Racism often won out over good intentions, making equal opportunity in employment, housing and education an exception rather than the rule. Despite the difficulties, there were many successful individuals and enterprises in Chatham, Collingwood, Amherstburg, Windsor and other communities in southwestern Ontario.

The Reverend Josiah Henson
(1789-1883)
Designated of national significance