Queen's Bush facts for kids

The Queen's Bush was a large area in what is now Southwestern, Ontario, Canada. It was located between Waterloo County, Ontario and Lake Huron. This land was set aside by the government for the church. It became well-known as a place where Black settlers built communities. Many of these settlers had been enslaved in the United States. The Queen's Bush Settlement started around 1820 and grew to over 2,000 people.

In the early 1840s, the land where these communities lived was surveyed to be sold. After the survey, many Black residents could not afford to buy the land. Because of this, they moved out of the Queen's Bush area.

History of Queen's Bush Land

The Queen's Bush was a big piece of land. It was located between Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, and other developed areas to the east and southeast. It bordered what are now the Townships of Wellesley and Peel.

Sir Francis Bond Head acquired this land for Upper Canada in 1836. This was part of the Manitowaning Treaty with the Ojibway of Manitoulin Island and the Saugeen Peninsula. Later, people questioned the treaty's terms. This was because Bond Head had Indigenous leaders sign a copy of a speech, not a proper agreement.

The area was covered in thick forests and had lots of wildlife. The soil was very good for farming. Some people think the land was called "Queen's Bush" to tell it apart from other large lands bought from the Crown. These other lands were bought by groups like the Canada Company.

The Queen's Bush was settled later than other parts of Southwestern Ontario. This was because it was set aside as "clergy reserves." These were lands in Canada meant to support the Protestant church. The church would get money when the land was rented or sold. Unlike other clergy reserves, where only every seventh plot was set aside, the Queen's Bush was entirely reserved. In 1830, the Commissioner of Crown Lands became responsible for managing this land.

Settling the Queen's Bush Area

Starting in 1820, people began to settle on unclaimed land in the Queen's Bush. They were called "squatters" because they settled without official permission. These settlements were near what would become Heidelberg, St. Clements, and Wellesley, Ontario. Some also settled on the southern and eastern edges of the area.

Black settlers created farms in what are now the villages of Wallenstein and Hawkesville. Historians say Black people started settling in Queen's Bush as early as 1833. Some of these settlers had fought for the British in the Rebellions of 1837–1838. Many others were people who had escaped slavery from the Southern United States. There were also free Black people from the Northern United States.

The Queen's Bush was one of the known stops on the Underground Railroad in Canada. Other stops included Toronto, Wellesley, Galt, and Hamilton. By the 1840s, the Black community in Queen's Bush grew to over 2,000 people. They cleared large areas of land for farming. They also built churches. Their children went to schools run by missionaries.

In 1851, there were eight African Canadian families in the northern part of Wellesley Township. John Brown and Lucinda Green Brown settled there with their children. John had been enslaved in Virginia. His wife was born free. They met in Pennsylvania while he was traveling to Canada. After living in Windsor and St. Catharines, they settled in Wellesley Township around 1843. They had eleven children. John Brown owned one cow, one horse, and 120 acres of land.

Land Surveys and Challenges

In the 1840s, the government decided to survey the district for new settlements. This decision was made because many new people were arriving. These migrants came from countries like England, Scotland, and Ireland. They were looking for farmland.

The people already living there knew their claim to the land was uncertain. They had cleared the land and built homes. Many of them did not have enough money to buy the land outright. So, they started trying to secure their homes and farms.

In the fall of 1842, the Queen's Bush residents sent a letter to James Durand. He was a member of parliament for Canada West. They asked for the land to be divided into smaller, more affordable plots. The letter admitted their "boldness of squatting into the Queens [sic] Bush." They explained that many arrived with no way to support themselves or their families. They had gone into the woods to farm the unsettled land. They hoped to buy it if they ever had the chance.

The authors said they were still poor and could not buy land with cash. They suggested that land plots be 200 acres. This would give those already living there a chance to buy it.

The survey of Wellesley Township began in April 1843. William Walker led this work. By September of that year, 66,000 acres of land in the southern Queen's Bush had been surveyed. This was done to help sell the land. Robert W. Kerr did more survey work. He surveyed 74,627 acres that would become Peel Township in Wellington County.

As the surveys continued, the situation became harder for the people living on the land. The surveys did not consider existing homes or farms. Sometimes, several family farms were included in one plot of land.

The settlers sent another request for help to the new Governor-General of the Province of Canada, Charles Metcalfe. They asked for the land to be given to them. They explained their difficult financial situation. They described themselves as "being extremely poor having lately emigrated from England, and from the Southern states were we have suffered all the horrors of Slavery, and having no means of purchasing land." This request was denied. The petition had 123 signatures. A historian named Linda Brown-Kubisch identified 51 of these as Black settlers.

Another petition was sent to Earl of Elgin in 1847. He was then the Governor General of Upper Canada. This petition was signed by 91 people, many of whom had signed the 1843 effort. They claimed the land because they were loyal to Queen Victoria. They also pointed out their hard work in making the Queen's Bush livable and good for farming. This time, they had support from Hamilton's Black community. Paolo Brown, Moses Crump, and Peter Price presented a petition. They objected to what they saw as violations of property rights.

In 1850, Elgin offered a deal to Black and white settlers living on the land. But the Black settlers could not afford the payment terms. Many white settlers were able to stay on their land. Some even took over the farms of their Black neighbors who had to leave. On January 1, 1850, the Queen's Bush was divided into counties and townships. Black settlers who lost their farms began moving out of Queen's Bush. They went to other African-Canadian communities.

Legacy of Queen's Bush

An Ontario Historical Plaque is located on Road 45. It is near where the Conestogo River crosses the road. The plaque describes the Queen's Bush:

In the early 19th century the vast unsettled area between Waterloo County and Lake Huron was known as the "Queen's Bush". More than 1,500 free and formerly enslaved Blacks pioneered scattered farms along the Peel and Wellesley Township border, with Glen Allan, Hawkesville and Wallenstein as important centres. Working together, these industrious and self-reliant settlers built churches, schools, and a strong and vibrant community life. American missionaries taught local Black children at the Mount Hope and Mount Pleasant schools. In the 1840s the government ordered the district surveyed and many of the settlers could not afford to purchase the land they had laboured so hard to clear. By 1850 migration out of the Queen's Bush had begun. Today African Canadians whose ancestors pioneered the Queen's Bush are represented in communities across Ontario.

Benjamin Drew was asked in the early 1850s to interview former enslaved people who settled in Canada. The Canadian Anti-Slavery Society commissioned him. Some families from Wellesley were interviewed by Drew. He published a book called The Refugee, Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada.