Crossing the Border: A Free Black Community in Canada

by Sharon Hepburn

A story of freedom and flourishing in a community of former slavesIn 1849, the Reverend William King and fifteen of his former slaves founded the Canadian settlement of Buxton on a 9,000-acre block of land in Ontario set aside for sale to blacks. Although initially opposed by some neighboring whites, their town grew steadily in population and stature with the backing of the Presbyterian Church of Canada and various philanthropics. A developed agricultural community that supported three schools, four churches, a hotel, and a post office, Buxton was home to almost seven hundred residents at its height. The settlement (which still exists today) remained all black until 1860, when its land was opened to purchase by whites. Sharon A. Roger Hepburn's Crossing the Border tells the story of Buxton's settlers, united in their determination to live free from slavery and legal repression. It is the most comprehensive study to address life in a black community in Canada.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few chapters have somewhat of a storyline going for them, and then in the middle somewhere it turned into an illustration of the raw data that she collected-endlessly listing names and figures about the community. This made some parts almost unreadable as it felt more like a piece of reference material than anything else.

So if you need a source to cite research or hard factual numbers on the Buxton settlement, then this is definitely your book (lots of data is provided from censuses); but if you're looking for a nice storyline about the settlement, then this would at best be a dry supplement to other material.

I was personally hoping for more information about the quality of education at the settlement; it is always referenced as being superior and a catalyst for the community, both in terms of integration and cohesion, but little data is provided about the specifics of what exactly was going on that made it so great. (Out of the 10 chapters in the book, only 1 is on education, and nothing profound is written.)

Still, out of all of the material I've read about Buxton, Ms. Hepburn seems the most evenhanded, as she goes out of her way not to romanticize any of the accomplishments of the community; unfortunately, this middle ground only adds to the dryness of the material.

Overall, I liked parts of the book, it's definitely informative, albeit not super enjoyable.