The Elgin settlement, also known as Buxton, was the last of four organized black settlements to come into existence in Canada. The black population of Canada West and Chatham was already high because of the area's proximity to the United States of America. The land was purchased by the Elgin Association through the Presbyterian Synod for the purpose of creating a settlement. The land lay 12 miles south of Chatham. When news of the Elgin settlement spread, white settlers became worried, and attempted to block its development with a petition. Regardless of sentiment, plans for the settlement went ahead and many of Buxton's settlers feared for the life of William King due to the resistance of whites.

Rev. William King Founder of the Elgin Settlement, Rev. William King established a community that still exists today. This community is considered by many as one of the only settlements began as a haven for Blacks escaping slavery to have been a success. Much of the credit for the success of the settlement must be given to Rev. William King and his thoughtful development of this community.

William King believed that blacks could function successfully in a working society if given the same educational opportunities as white children. "Blacks are intellectually capable of absorbing classical and abstract matters." Being a reverend and teacher, the building of a school and church in the settlement was found necessary by him. The settlement also was home to the logging industry. George Brown, who later became one of the Fathers of Confederation was a supporter of William King and helped build the settlement.

1849

When William King and his fifteen former slaves arrived at the land, which was bought for the settlement, a family was already waiting and others began to arrive soon afterwards. The first settler, Isaac Riley, was already waiting at the settlement before King even arrived. Mostly all adults living in the settlement had been slaves before. The settlement was made of 9 000 acres of land, 6 miles in length, 3 in width situated between the Great Western Railway and Lake Erie. The land was divided into farms of 50 acres each. Certain standards had to be maintained in the settlement regarding property conditions. Land had to be purchased by the settlers at the price of $2.50/acre. The payments could be made in ten equal installments with 6% interest. Ten years was allowed for the settlers to pay for their farms, most settlers would have had a deed in possession by then. The settlers were given no money, no grants of land, nor farming tools; the only thing given was protection and advice.

Gravestone of original Settler Found in South Buxton this stone marks the grave of one of the original settlers of the Elgin Settlement. There are three black cemeteries in what was the Elgin Settlement. The other two are located in what became North Buxton. The North Buxton sites are still used for burial today.

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Rules for the Elgin Settlement:

1. No liquor allowed on the settlement
2. Land could only be sold to blacks and had to remain in their hands for ten years
3. Land had to be purchased not leased
4. Each house had to be built at least 24x18x12 feet with a porch across the front
5. Each house had to be built 33 feet from the road, with a picket fence and flower garden in front; prizes were given for the most attractive home (made from the logs cut down from the thick bush surrounding the area)

Reasons for the strict rules:

William King wanted a stable settlement for the black settlers. By requiring the inhabitants to pay for their own property and possessions he hoped to instill a sense of pride in the community. The settlers also had to live on the land for ten years, which made many stay a reasonable length of time in Buxton. The rules paid off as Buxton has been hailed the only successful black settlement in Canada.
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1850

Reverend William King and a young assistant, John Rennie, took young black children (and two white children who attended the school) past the elementary school level and on to the secondary level. Those with the ability were encouraged to attend college or post secondary education. The school was so successful that many white settlers asked to close their school and attend the King school, this made one of the first integrated schools in North America. Subjects such as Latin were studied there. Mary Ann Shadd's parents and a number of her brothers and sisters moved just outside of the Buxton limits.

1851

A new course, Greek, was added to school classes.

1852

The day school had 78 on the roll, 26 were children of white parents. King was chiefly paid by the Home Mission Committee of the Presbyterian (Free) Church of Canada, which always bore testimony against the evils of slavery. By August 1st, 1852 there were 400 settlers. Twenty-five families had purchased land close together, furthering the community atmosphere. Within the district there were about 100 families. Of the 350 acres of land cleared at this time, 204 of those were under crop. The land had been adapted to grow corn, tobacco and hemp. The rule of no alcohol was working well as there are no cases of drunkenness to date. A court of arbitration was set up to encourage peace among the settlers.

1853

130 families had settled on Elgin Association land. There were a total of 520. 500 acres had been cleared and were under fence; 135 were partially cleared. 263 acres were planted with corn, 60 acres with wheat, 29 with oats and 90 with various others. There were 112 students now enrolled in the day school.

1854

More houses were built in the settlement, one person even constructed a brick home. There were approximately 150 families settled in Elgin. By this time 726 acres were cleared and under fence, 174 were cut down and ready for clearing. 334 acres were planted with corn, 95 with wheat, 48 with oats and 100 with other assorted crops. The day school had 147 students registered.

1855

827 acres were under fence, 216 have been chopped down. There is a considerable amount of tobacco being farmed. The school now has 150 on the roll. A saw mill and market are completed on July 4th, 1855.

1856

By 1856 there were close to 800 people living in the Elgin Settlement. The settlement now had a school and mission's church. The Buxton mission was named after the Earl of Buxton (British Parliament) who passed the Emancipation Act of 1833. During 1856 the Elgin settlement had a post office, store, a two story hotel, a blacksmith, a carpenter, shoe shops, factories and a savings bank. Six men had finished their education at King's school.

S.S.# 13 Raleigh Township Education was a focal point in the Elgin Settlement. The Buxton schools were sought out by those seeking a quality education that included the classics and preparation for careers such as  medicine and law. The schools here were never segregated and taught both black and white from the beginning.   This is the second school and was  built around 1861, It still stands today and is used as an annex to the museum. One of the museum's ambitions for the future is the restoration of this school house to its original state.

1857

Two schools had been doing well, one male and one female, bringing the total student population to 140.

1860's

The population comes to a height with 2000 people.
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People

Reverend William King

William King was born on November 11th, 1812 in Ireland. He attended the Glascow University where he was influenced by social reforms and the work of the famous British abolitionist, Sir Thomas Foxwell Buxton. In 1834 William King emigrated with his parents to North America. The family settled on a land. Ohio farm and then moved to South Jackson Louisiana. Here he became Rector of Matthew's Academy which was a private school for children of wealthy plantation owners. Eventually William King married Mary Phares and she brought four slaves. King was totally opposed to any such idea and publicly protested slavery.

Rev. William King

From the very beginning King was against slavery. After his wife, son and daughter all died, King returned to Scotland where he continued his schooling to become a minister and missionary. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland posted him to do missionary work in Canada. In 1846 King arrived in Canada when he learned of his father in laws death. King immediately returned to Louisiana where he inherited his wife's property and retrieved his slaves to return to Canada. He arrived back in Canada in 1848 with 14 black slaves and 4 year old Solomon, the son of one of the slaves. This was the beginning of William King's black community in November of 1849. King did marry again while he lived on the Elgin Settlement, his second wife, Jemima, (who was white) was known to be a bit eccentric. She supposedly was unable to have children of her own and would try to take babies on the street away from their parents. However she was a musician and taught music at the settlement. He died in 1895 at age 82. A character based on Reverend William King is portrayed in Harriet Beacher Stowe's book - Dred, A Tale of the Great Swamp.

E. A. Richardson B.M.E. Church North Buxton

Isaac Riley

Isaac Riley was raised in Perry County, Missouri. Tired of the life of slavery, he escaped to Canada with his wife and their child. Living among the French near Windsor he was able to earn small wages. He moved across to Michigan where he found better pay. Riley then moved back to St. Catherine's in Canada, where he was paid 50 cents a day. Eventually he moved to Buxton because he wanted his children to have a good education.

Henry Johnson

Henry Johnson was originally from Pennsylvania. He also lived in Ohio before coming to Canada. Henry lived in various parts of Canada for four years before moving to the Buxton Settlement. "I came to Canada for rights, freedom and liberty. But most of all I came to Buxton so my children could have a good education." One of his daughters had been doing extremely well in school in Ohio. She had been advancing quickly through the levels and was receiving her education with ladies. Her mother went through a lot of trouble to make sure she was well dressed and groomed when she went to school also. The school trustees, however, passed a rule that did not allow black children in the public schools. Her father became upset and visited the trustees but there was nothing he could do about the rule. The teacher contacted Henry Johnson and told him that he liked his daughter and that the students had voted in class that she should stay but the vote had already been passed. Johnson was very impressed with the Elgin Settlement. He told historian Benjamin Drew in 1856 that the people were prosperous and admired the fact that they didn't accept charity as it made men lazy.

Clarissa Bristow Johnston

Clarissa Bristow Johnston worked for a master and mistress in Louisiana. At age 12 she escaped. She went to the Elgin Settlement and married. She married Abraham Johnston of the Christiana Riots fame. She and her husband had 11 children, 9 of which died. Her husband also died young. In her writings she describes how she would go out to bury one child and by the time she returned, another would have passed away. Through all of this she was still able to keep the family farm. The farm is still on the same property with the same family today in Buxton.

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