Henson, Reverend Josiah National Historic Person
Dresden, Ontario
Address :
29251 Uncle Tom's Road, Dresden, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1995-11-24
Life Date:
1789 to 1883
Other Name(s):
-
Reverend Josiah Henson
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Community leader, Underground Railroad conductor
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 29251 Uncle Tom's Road, Dresden, Ontario
After escaping to Upper Canada from slavery in Kentucky, the Reverend Josiah Henson became a conductor of the Underground Railroad and a force in the abolition movement. The founder of the Black settlement of Dawn, he was also an entrepreneur and established a school, the British-American Institute. His fame grew after Harriet Beecher Stowe stated that his memoirs published in 1849 had provided "conceptions and incidents" for her extraordinarily popular novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Henson's celebrity raised international awareness of Canada as a haven for refugees from slavery.