Provincial recognition for Buxton’s 100th anniversary of Homecoming proved to be the icing on the cake for the centennial event.
Held over the Labour Day Weekend last September, the event drew several thousand people from around Ontario and parts of the U.S. to celebrate their heritage, their roots, family history and the Underground Railroad.
During Black History month, the Ontario Heritage Trust and the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario presented organizers of Buxton’s Homecoming with an Excellence in Conservation Award.
According to provincial officials the award was handed out “for demonstrating community leadership by driving heritage tourism in 2023 to one of the province’s most significant historical Black communities, and for their commitment to doing so over the previous 100 years.”
Michelle Robbins, curator of the Buxton National Historic Site, said the award put folks on cloud nine.
“We were honoured to be nominated in the first place. It was definitely a surprise, but a great feeling,” she said. “We were just so proud of everything that has come before us and all the people who have planned homecoming year after year.”
Robbins said the North Buxton community works hard to make Homecoming the success it is.
“It is definitely a community effort. The amount of time and effort that goes into planning this is a lot,” she said. “We start planning in January for the September event.”
Despite the workload, people are happy to do it. Robbins credits the volunteers for making it possible.
“We do it with open arms. We have an amazing committee of volunteers,” she said. “It really goes to show how important the history of this community is.”
The reward for the hard work is immediately seen on the faces of those who attend.
“The amount of descendants who have never been here before and have never met other relatives, it was amazing to watch every person just smiling and happy and full of life,” Robbins said.
