Collingwood council kicked off Black History Month by voting to designate a major landmark of the town’s Black history as a heritage site.
During Monday’s (Jan. 30) regular meeting of council, councillors voted in favour of designating Heritage Community Church (310 Seventh St.) as a heritage property under the Ontario Heritage Act. The property where the current church stands has long been a safe haven for Black settlers in Collingwood.
Sisters Carolynn and Sylvia Wilson are the current directors of the church and sought a formal heritage designation to preserve the history and the property's connection to Black history dating back to the 1870s.
“It feels like we’ve been recognized in the community for all the years we’ve worked hard. It’s nice to be recognized. It feels good for our forefathers and those who were part of the church and established it, are important to Collingwood,” Carolynn Wilson told CollingwoodToday this week. “It’s wonderful.”
The intention to designate the property first came forward in July 2022.
“It’s been a journey,” said Wilson, noting that interest in Black history and heritage of the area has increased over time. “It’s intriguing to people. We were invisible, but we kept going. It’s significant that it all came together in February. It brings awareness that Black history is here all year.”
“We’d like to pay tribute to our ancestors and relatives who stayed when they came to Collingwood and made choices to integrate the community. The first thing they built was a church. We’re grateful for them, and we’re grateful for the community who surrounded the church area who became part of our community, and friends,” she said.
In 1870, the Black community in Collingwood — and supportive white neighbours — collectively raised $15 to purchase the property on Seventh Street with the purpose of building a church.
The original church burned down, but a second was built in the same spot in the 1920s. The current church was rebuilt in 1976 and incorporated as the Heritage Community Church, and has undergone additional renovations over the last few years.
According to the heritage report completed by Su Murdoch Historical Consulting, the property is a significant landmark of direct descendants of freedmen, freedwomen, freedom seekers, the enslaved, and fugitives who established a flourishing Black settlement in Collingwood, also known as a northern terminus for the Underground Railroad.
SEE MORE: The neighbourhood that prayed together stayed together (A history of Heritage Community Church)
Some of the benefits of a heritage designation include owners becoming eligible for incentive programs such as grants for restoration/maintenance, a public acknowledgement of a property’s cultural heritage value and ensuring built cultural heritage is maintained long-term.
Looking ahead, Wilson does have her eye on some heritage renovations the church needs.
“We have a big window at the front that has some air holes in it. We can address that,” she said. “We have been fortunate to save and raise some funds to do some repairs, but there’s an opportunity here as well.”
