Mayor acknowledges township's history during Black Heritage Month

MAPLETON – February is Black Heritage Month and Mayor Gregg Davidson acknowledged the township’s history as a destination for Black settlers at the Feb. 8 council meeting.

“The Township of Mapleton has a rich history, which includes in the mid-1800s, being home to approximately 3,000 Black Canadians who moved here after escaping slavery,” said Davidson.

"And this area, where Glen Allan is known today, is the Queen's Bush settlement.

"It was a second largest black settlement in Canada and the largest in Upper Canada."

A documentary The Underground Railroad: The Secret History is airing this month on the Discovery Channel.

Filmed partially in the Yatton and Wallenstein areas, the four-part series is airing on Tuesdays through February.