By Valerie Posthumus
The Haldimand Press
CANFIELD—A chance meeting and the combined passions of two Haldimand residents has led to the development of a local documentary called “The Black Settlers of Canfield”.
“I’ve done a lot of research … and I thought this history needs to be saved, it’s a forgotten history,” said Sylvia Weaver of Dunnville, a local author, genealogist, and volunteer with Heritage Haldimand.
Weaver has brought the story of the Black Settlers of Canfield to life through presentations and in the book she is currently writing, which is set to be released this spring. She has teamed up with Graeme Bachiu of Cayuga. With 25 years of film and video experience, he is the creative energy behind Windecker Road Films.
DUNNVILLE—Shown is Sylvia Weaver interviewing Bill Douglas for the documentary “The Black Settlers of Canfield” earlier this month.
—Submitted photo.
Together, the two plan to create a six-part documentary depicting the Underground Railroad and the life of these early settlers in Canfield. The project is spearheaded by Weaver and Bachiu said, “I’ve always been interested in this stuff.… I would be nowhere with what I’m doing without Sylvia. Her book and my series are complimentary.”
“I want to explore these stories through the descendants of the black settlers. We do have one descendant of the black settlers living in Dunnville, Bill Douglas, who is very excited about all of this,” said Bachiu. “He grew up in Canfield…. He has really developed a pride in his heritage through this project. So he’s really the way in to talk about how Canfield was and how it was a busy spot with the railroad being a good provider of jobs for many years.”
The Underground Railroad was not a railway for trains or a tunnel underground, but rather a secret network operated by courageous people willing to hide, feed, and assist the fugitive slaves until passage to freedom could be arranged.
This network included Harriet Tubman, called “Moses”, who personally helped approximately 300 slaves escape to freedom over the course of 19 trips from the south. Tubman’s niece, Carrie Barnes, lived in Cayuga and is now buried in Canfield.
In 1851, it was recorded that 137 black settlers lived in Canfield. They primarily lived on what was known then as the “Darky Sideroad” (Road 32). Weaver said, “I did not want to use that name in my presentation, so I contacted Donna Ford, President of the Central Network for Black History in Niagara, and she said, ‘History is history, do not change it’.”
Of the 137 residents, many returned to the United States in 1863 after the Emancipation Proclamation by then-President Abraham Lincoln, and many of those who stayed have familiar names like Douglas, Burke, and Barnes.
CANFIELD—William A. Barnes’ (above) family was one of the first black families to flee from the US and settle in Canfield; they became prominent community figures. In 1865, William moved to Cayuga and opened the village’s first barbershop. His brother became a volunteer firefighter and opened Barney’s Garage in 1926.
—Courtesy of Haldimand Museum & Archives, whose current exhibit is on black history in Haldimand.
About the project, Bachiu said, “This is really significant…. It’s the first TV series that is produced in Haldimand County, by a Haldimand Production Company, and features Haldimand County stories…. It’s new ground that we are breaking with these stories.”
“I think one of the goals for starting to publicize this is to have an opportunity for people who we haven’t come in contact with, if they have any stories about Canfield, then we’d love to know them because it’s another avenue, another thing that we could add in there,” said Bachiu.
This project has been two years in the making. The budget is 75% funded by Bell Media, who has purchased it to broadcast. Funding has also been provided by community sponsorships; there are still sponsorship spots available. Bachiu said, “Another way to support the project is to follow the Black Settlers of Canfield on Facebook and Instagram, share the posts…. We really need to rely on the community to start to get interested in this.”
The docu-series will air on Bell Fibe TV1 in the fall of 2020.
Fibe TV1 is a broadcast streaming platform on Bell’s Fibe TV service. Fibe TV1 has 1.8 million subscribers in Eastern Canada, Ontario, and Manitoba.
There is no definite air date at this time.
