Virtual tours of the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site

Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History
Photo: Ontario Southwest/Chatham-Kent Tourism

This 75-minute live tour brings the history of the Underground Railroad to life through artifacts, a walking tour of the historical buildings, interactive activities and incredible storytelling. A brief question-and-answer session will follow each tour.

An estimated 30,000 Black refugees from slavery in the United States fled to Canada along the silent tracks of the Underground Railroad — a network of people who aided these refugees as they followed the North Star to freedom. One of these freedom seekers was abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor and former slave Josiah Henson. He became known as Uncle Tom through his connection to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Josiah Henson’s story is told at the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History. Your live-streaming experience incorporates a tour of the museum and two-hectare (five-acre) property, including the Interpretive Centre, three historical buildings — including the Josiah Henson House — a sawmill, two cemeteries and numerous artifacts that have been preserved as a legacy to those freedom seekers.

Topics discussed will include:

  • an overview of the transatlantic slave trade
  • slavery in Ontario
  • a discussion on the life of Josiah Henson
  • the Underground Railroad
  • early Black settlements in Ontario
  • the renaming of Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site

Tickets: FREE but registration is required


Location:

Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History
29251 Freedom Road
Dresden, Ontario

Map