RADFORD – Radford University history department chair and professor Sharon Roger Hepburn has written a book focusing on the first all-Black community in Canada. Crossing the Border: A Free Black Community in Canada was published by University of Illinois Press and is the story of Buxton, a 9,000-acre block of land in Ontario.

Buxton was founded in 1849 by the Rev. William King and 15 of his former slaves. Though many neighboring white communities did not agree with the establishment of the community, the town had the backing of the Presbyterian Church of Canada and prospered. The book is a historical perspective on the concept and establishment of Buxton, family and community structure, spirituality, education and the community’s success.

Hepburn (right) said the story was the basis for her dissertation and piqued her interest so much that she eventually decided to put the research into book form.  “The Buxton community still exists and I went there to meet some of the people whose ancestors were original settlers. There was a lady who had kept tax assessments in a box under her porch and they dated back to the 1850’s. She would let people take them out and copy them and then she’d put them back under the porch,” Hepburn recalls. Though the community is no longer all Black, she says there remains a sense of the past and citizens strive to educate others on their history.

To order a copy of Crossing the Border, e-mail shepburn@radford.edu or call (540) 831-5287.