Editing Chatham-Kent (section)

===Black population===
During the 19th century, the area was the northern [[Train station#Terminus|terminus]] of the [[Underground Railroad]]. As a result, Chatham-Kent is now part of the African-Canadian Heritage Tour. Josiah Henson Museum for African-Canadian History, formally known as [[Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site]] is a museum of the Dawn Settlement, established in 1841 by [[Josiah Henson]] near Dresden as refuge for the many slaves who escaped to Canada from the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uncletomscabin.org/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006105139/http://www.uncletomscabin.org/|url-status=dead|title=uncletomscabin.org|archivedate=October 6, 2016}}</ref> [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]], the abolitionist, planned [[John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry|his raid on the Harpers Ferry Arsenal]] in Chatham and recruited local men to participate in the raid. He held in Chatham a Convention of Colored Men on May 8–10, 1858.<ref>{{cite journal
|title=John Brown and his men, before and after the raid on Harper's Ferry, October 16th, 17th, 18th, 1859.
|last=Hinton
|first=R[ichard] J[osiah]
|journal=[[Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly]]
|volume=2
|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.32000000492225&view=1up&seq=709&q1=Brown
|number=6
|date=June 1889
|pages=691–703, at pp. 695–696}}</ref> The small village of [[North Buxton]], part of the [[African Canadian Heritage Tour]], also played an important role in the [[Underground Railroad]]. By the 1850s, the city of Chatham was referred to as the "[[black mecca]] of Canada".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schoolman |first1=Martha |last2=Hickman |first2=Jared |title=Abolitionist places |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415814539 |edition= 1st}}</ref> A museum in the city, the Black Mecca Museum, still bears this name.<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Mecca Museum |url=https://www.ontariobybike.ca/attractions/black-mecca-museum |website=Ontario By Bike |access-date=December 11, 2018}}</ref> Chatham was home to a number of [[black churches]] and business, with [[Black Canadians]] making up one-third of the city's population and controlling a significant portion of the city's political power. Nearby [[Dresden, Ontario|Dresden]] and [[North Buxton|Buxton]] were also home to thousands of land-owning black residents.<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Community – Chatham |url=https://www.chatham-kent.ca/Newcomers/play/cultural-connections/cultural-communities/black-community |website=Chatham-Kent |access-date=December 11, 2018}}</ref> However, after the abolition of slavery in the United States, many black families left the area. Today the city of Chatham is just 3.3% black, with Chatham-Kent as a whole being 2.1% black. Few of the black-owned institutions are still in operation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Canada |first1=Government of Canada, Statistics |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census – Chatham-Kent, Municipality [Census subdivision], Ontario and Ontario [Province] |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3536020&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=Wallaceburg&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |date=February 8, 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

{{See also|Chatham Vigilance Committee}}