Descendant of Black settlers in Ontario county is fed up with theft, vandalism of road sign

Carolynn Wilson has devoted decades to shining aspotlight on the contributionsof Black settlers in Grey County, including a fight at the Ontario Human Rights tribunal in the 1990sto keep Negro Creek Road from being renamed.

But theefforts of Wilson, whose family wasamong those Black settlers, are complicated by the fact the sign markingthe five-kilometre stretch of road on Highway6 getsstolen multiple times a year.

The most recent theft was this past weekend someone used an abrasive saw to cut down the pole on which the sign was mounted.

"We're very concerned. We can only speculate why it keeps being taken," said Wilson, who lives in Collingwoodand runs the Sheffield Park Black History Museum.

"It's been painted over, I've heard there's been bullet holes put in it, it's been stolen several times. We're hoping to educate the community and everyone that Black history is important, that these settlers were significantand that they contributed to the community."

Chatsworth Township officials say the sign is removedat least two or three times a year, usually overnight. The one takenlast weekend had been mounted on a taller pole, in an effort to prevent thefts.

"We can only speculate that there's a small sector of people who think the sign is not suitable or that they feel it's not deserving," said Wilson. "Sometimes there are attitudes that Black people don't count and that they have no business being in this area."

Human rights fight

In the 1990s, township officials tried to change the road's nameto the name of a white settler.

Wilson, armed with 4,000 signatures of support, took what was then Holland Township to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, arguing that changing the name would erase the history of the area's Black settlers. In 1997, the tribunal ruled in Wilson's favour.

"From that time on, the sign has gone missing over and over again," Wilson said. "If the sign was taken down, it's erasing history. It would show that Black folks aren't important."

Wilson and Chatsworth Township officials want more information and education about the Negro Creek area, hoping that might deter the thieves.

At a council meeting Wednesday, the chief administrative officer (CAO) clerk will ask politicians to declare February Black History Month for the first time in the township's history. It's hoped thateducating people about the history of Negro Creek Road will reduce the chance of it being stolen,saidPatty Sinnamon.

Black settlers came to the Grey County area to escape slavery and start better lives,drawn to the fertile landand buildingbustling settlements. Over time, they dispersed, some going back to the United States, others to larger municipalities.

"They did a lot of work to build their homes and landmarks," said Wilson.

'Part of this whole mosaic'

"We were very industrious, so if you take away Negro Creek Road, it erases us being here," she added.

The term Negro has historical significance and was used by Black settlers in the 1800s to identify each other, she added.

"We're a part of this whole mosaic. We've been here for all these years, and I do believe we have the right to be in the history books, and that's where we're at today. Documentation is important."