The Queen's Bush Settlement, 1820-1867

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted October, 2008

Plaque Location

The County of Wellington
The Township of Mapleton
On Road 45 near where the Conestogo River crosses the road
5.1 km from Road 86 via Roads 12 and 45

Coordinates: N 43 39.209 W 80 41.917

Plaque Text

In the early 19th century the vast unsettled area between Waterloo County and Lake Huron was know as the "Queen's Bush". More than 1,500 free and formerly enslaved Blacks pioneered scattered farms along the Peel and Wellesley Township border, with Glen Allan, Hawkesville and Wallenstein as important centres. Working together, these industrious and self-reliant settlers built churches, schools, and a strong and vibrant community life. American missionaries taught local Black children at the Mount Hope and Mount Pleasant schools. In the 1840s the government ordered the district surveyed and many of the settlers could not afford to purchase the land they had laboured so hard to clear. By 1850 migration out of the Queen's Bush had begun. Today African Canadians whose ancestors pioneered the Queen's Bush are represented in communities across Ontario.

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Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted July 14, 2012
I am interested in the parameters of the Queen's Bush? Where can I find this information?
Thank you.

Posted February 11, 2011
It's refreshing to see "African Canadian" used properly, here as a description of a modern race of African descent which holds Canadian citizenship. The term is often misused in opposition to 'African American', in an attempt to differentiate between Blacks in what became Canada from Blacks in what became the U.S. The word 'American' refers to a continent, not U.S. citizenship, and is an inclusive term that can be applied to historic or modern groups in both countries (and other American nations). 'African Canadian' is a subset of the 'African American' umbrella. -Wayne

Posted February 9, 2011
Than Q for this site. I have enjoyed browsing today and will return - T.S. Chatsworth Twp

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