George Taylor’s barber shop, 145 King Street, c. 1908
Left to right: Will Taylor, Shadrach Martin and Thomas Logan
Courtesy, London Public Library
By Miranda Chant (LondonNewsToday.ca)
Several museums and heritage sites across southwestern Ontario are marking the start of Black History Month with the launch of a new virtual tour of historic sites.
The online Black history tour takes people to locations in London-Middlesex, Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, and Oxford County. It is comprised of more than 40 images of key persons, events, and structures in those communities. Each tour begins with the Underground Railway and the arrival of thousands of former slaves who fled from the United States before the Civil War. That is then followed by other historical events and firsts such as Emancipation Day celebrations and the Chatham Coloured All-Stars Baseball Team, who in 1934 became the first all-Black team to win an Ontario Baseball Association title.
Building on a driving tour guide of the sites originally put together by Museum London, the group of museum curators, historic site administrators, and community historians teamed up with app developer onthisspot.ca to put together the virtual tour. The goal was to provide educators and area residents with resources to learn about the Black historical experience in southwestern Ontario. The app is available for free by clicking here.
There are also plans to expand the app in future to include virtual tours of the interior of the museums and historic sites and the inclusion of recorded narration of stories and music.
While the virtual tours can be accessed from anywhere, organizers are hopeful people will visit the sites featured in the app in-person in the future.
“The tours are ideal as cycling adventures and of course visitors are welcome at any of the museums and historic sites, once it’s safe to do so,” Museum London said.