Dartmouth residents want site of historic Black church preserved

Dartmouth historian David Jones has uncovered what he believes is a rich piece of African Nova Scotia history.

“You can see the corner of a stone and concrete foundation,” Jones said as he pointed to the location where the Dartmouth Lake African United Baptist Church once stood.

The church burned down in 1896.

“It was the centre of this community at the end of Crichton Avenue,” said Jones.

That community was called The Avenue and was once home to roughly 130 Black Nova Scotians. It dated back as far as the War of 1812, when freed slaves came to live here.

“This land should be protected, commemorated and preserved,” Jones said.

Jones has asked the Halifax Regional Municipality, which owns this site, to block any new development at this location.

He has received minimal response so far.

Carolyn Fowler was born and raised in The Avenue, next to where she now lives.Pictured is a sign detailing the historic Avenue community in Dartmouth. (CTV Atlantic/Paul Hollingsworth).“I’m here now because this is where I feel I belong,” Fowler said, adding that she understands the need for new building projects. “I have nothing against affordable housing, and I know it is absolutely necessary.”

But Fowler agrees with Jones and hopes the city protects this parcel of land.

“I think it’s an opportunity to take a look at the history of the land,” said Fowler. “The fact that the land was expropriated, and we now have an opportunity to have an option.”

A plaque is located nearby, on the shores of Lake Banook where the church's baptisms took place.

Jones would like to see this marker moved or duplicated.

“I think it would be very important to have commemoration right here,” Jones said, who is certain it would be a meaningful step towards preserving Black history, where The Avenue and a church once stood.

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