Learn the story of Josiah Henson, whose life inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin – a landmark in protest literature.
An abolitionist, preacher, and author, Henson escaped slavery with his family in 1830, fleeing from the U.S. to Canada. He later became a conductor of the Underground Railroad, rescuing hundreds of enslaved people.
He relocated to Dresden, Ontario in 1841, purchasing 200 acres in Dawn Township to build a self-sufficient community for fugitives from slavery. The Dawn Settlement included a vocational school, homes, farms, a church and a sawmill.
Henson became a leading figure in the abolitionist movement, traveling worldwide to denounce slavery and raise support for his work among freedmen in Canada. He was invited to Windsor Castle by Queen Victoria, to the White House by Rutherford B. Hayes, and is now recognized as a Canadian National Historic Person.
Today, visitors can step inside the Dawn settlement, explore Henson’s home, cemeteries, the historic sawmill and a relocated pioneer church dating back to 1850. The open-air museum also features the Josiah Henson Interpretive Centre, a multimedia exhibition telling the story of the site, Henson’s life, and the history of freedom seekers and the Underground Railroad.
