Queen’s Bush settlement mural to be unveiled Aug. 15

MAPLETON – Today, little remains to suggest that the quiet countryside stretching from Waterloo toward Lake Huron was once home to the largest Black settlement in Upper Canada. 

Farms, fields and rural crossroads have long since replaced what was, for nearly half a century, a thriving community built by former slaves.

On Aug. 15, that history will become visible once again with the unveiling of  a new mural in Wallenstein that commemorates the Queen’s Bush settlement.

Among those who will attend the event, set for 11am to 3pm at Earthscape Play, is Guelph singer and public speaker Tracey Lee Johnson, a fifth-generation descendant of Queen’s Bush settlers. 

“For me, this mural represents much more than a work of art. It is a public acknowledgment of a history that has too often been overlooked,” said Johnson.

“It recognizes the courage, resilience and contributions of the Queen’s Bush settlers and ensures that their stories become part of the landscape for future generations to see and learn from.”

In a chapter of the Wellington County History journal, Karen Smart recounts the remarkable rise and disappearance of the settlement established by Black Americans who escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad during the first half of the 19th century.

Early arrivals found little more than dense forest.

According to the Ontario Heritage Trust, John Little, one of the settlement’s earliest residents, recalled arriving during a harsh February in 1842. Settlers survived by making fires, felling trees and constructing shelters with “slats like a wigwam.”

By 1840, Queen’s Bush had become home to an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 residents, the largest Black population in Upper Canada. Churches and schools soon followed, allowing former slaves to build institutions denied to many of them in the United States.

Rather than existing simply as a refuge, Queen’s Bush became a community.

Smart recounts the story through the Travis family, which settled near present-day Mapleton. Richard Travis Jr. farmed a property there until poor health forced him to sell it in 1867.

Following his death the following year, widow Pollyzenia Travis remained for a time before eventually moving – first to Chatham and later to Ann Arbor, mirroring the path taken by many Queen’s Bush families.

While some worshipped as Baptists, many residents gathered at the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which served as the settlement’s spiritual and social centre. 

Other Queen’s Bush residents migrated to other major Canadian cities and made an impact.

Paola Brown, who first settled near Winterbourne after arriving from Ohio, later moved to Hamilton. Remembered locally as the city’s town crier, Brown also became an important advocate for Black Canadians, delivering a notable speech in 1851 condemning the condition of black people in pre-Civil War America.

Historians generally attribute the decline of the Queen’s Bush settlement to the fact many settlers never secured ownership of the land they worked. Without that foundation, families gradually dispersed in search of new opportunities elsewhere.

By the 1870s, the settlement had largely faded from the landscape. Its people, however, did not disappear.

They carried the story of Queen’s Bush into communities across Ontario and the United States, while descendants preserved memories that people like Smart have painstakingly reconstructed.

Others, like Johnson, are telling these stories through local performances. 

“As both a descendant of the Queen’s Bush settlers and a performer, I feel a responsibility to help carry those stories forward,” she said.

“Every performance is an opportunity to honour the voices of those who came before us while helping new audiences understand that this isn’t just Black history, it’s Canadian history. 

“If we don’t continue telling these stories, we risk losing an important part of who we are.”

The Wallenstein mural, organized by Hearts Open For Everyone and led by muralist Kalkidan Assefa,  was developed with input from Queen’s Bush descendants, including Johnson, who will attend the Aug. 15 unveiling.

The project is set to cost $66,000, with $30,000 coming from Earthscape Play and another $30,000 potentially coming from pending federal grants.

Other supporters include Wellington County, Guelph Tourism, Explore Waterloo Region and RTO4 (which supports tourism in Waterloo and Wellington, Perth and Huron Counties).