Encouraged by local Quakers, free Blacks and escaped slaves fled persecution in the United States and found homes in the Otterville area beginning in 1829. As skilled tradespeople and farmers, these people made significant contributions to local development. In 1856, trustees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church purchased this half-acre lot and built the first Black church in Oxford County. Later that year, the church was transferred to the newly established British Methodist Episcopal denomination. The church and cemetery served the local Black community until the late 1880s. The small white-painted frame church had disappeared by the early 20th century. Its cemetery is one of the few preserved Black pioneer burial grounds in Ontario.

Location

At the entrance to the African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery. The cemetery can be found on the west side of Church Street, approximately 1 km north of County Road 19, in Otterville.

Themes

• Black heritage
• Communities
• Religion