By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
CANFIELD—It’s been over a year since the initial release of Canfield Roots, a documentary made by local filmmaker Graeme Bachiu that explored the roots of a cemetery in Canfield where the grave markers of escaped slaves, including the niece of Harriet Tubman, remain.
The documentary looked at the Street Cemetery’s historical significance and featured interviews with descendants of those buried there. The cemetery currently sits on private property, with the County’s plan to purchase the land and restore the site still incomplete.
The Press reached out to the County for an update on any progress that might have been made in the year and a half since the original announcement for a two-phase plan to revitalize the site and open it to the public.
“The County is continuing to work to finalize details with all parties involved, including neighbouring property owners, legal representatives, and other agencies, to be able to register the property,” said Kyra Hayes, Supervisor of Customer Experience & Communications for the County. “Once the County is the registered owner of the cemetery, we will work with the Bereavement Authority of Ontario to file all the necessary paperwork.”
Hayes said that with the transfer of lands almost complete, preliminary work has begun on the site, including the re-establishment of survey stakes for the pathway and cemetery.
“As soon as the cemetery is registered to the County, we will construct a pathway from the new culvert to the cemetery and begin restoration work to make the site safe for future access by the public. This will include items such as removing/trimming hazardous trees, removal and replacement of the cemetery fence, clearing brush/debris and ground restoration and levelling,” explained Hayes.
She said that while the pathway construction and cemetery safety issues are being addressed, staff will begin the process of inviting participants to join the Community Stakeholder Committee, which will be comprised of descendants of the original settlers and family members (specifically those who have been involved so far in getting the cemetery transferred to County ownership), local historians who have worked with the families to support these restoration efforts, a representative of Heritage Haldimand, and the local councillor.
Hayes concluded, “Staff will work with the committee – and at times the broader community and other relevant organizations – to facilitate the development of a plan to restore/rehabilitate/revitalize the cemetery.”
In other Street-Barnes cemetery related news, Bachiu has been nominated for the Public Education and Engagement Award by Architectural Conservancy Ontario for his work in uncovering the issue and bringing it to the public’s attention with his documentary.
Canfield Roots is now available to stream for free on the streaming service Tubi, and it is also available to subscribers of Apple TV.
