page_title: Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site
section_title: Creating a historic site
hierarchical_section_title: Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site / History / Post-settlement history / Creating a historic site
caption_attribution_description: English: Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site is an open air museum and African American history centre near Dresden, Ontario, Canada, that includes the home of Josiah Henson, a former slave, author, abolitionist, and minister, who, through his 1849 autobiography The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself, was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's title character in her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.The 5-acre (20,000 m²) complex is part of the original 200 acres (0.81 km²) of land purchased in 1841 to establish the Dawn Settlement, a community for escaped slaves.
context_page_description: Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site is an open-air museum in Dresden, Ontario, Canada, that documents the life of Josiah Henson, the history of slavery, and the Underground Railroad. The historic site is situated on the grounds of the former Dawn settlement established by Henson; a former slave, abolitionist, and minister. Through his autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself, he served as the inspiration for the title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
  The 2 hectares historic site contains an interpretive centre, several historic buildings from the Dawn settlement, and two cemeteries; one of which holds Henson's gravesite. Informal tours of Henson's family home began in 1948, although the larger property was not converted into a museum until 1964, after several other related historical structures were moved onto the historic site. The museum was privately owned until 1988, when it was sold to Kent County. Ownership of the property was later transferred to St. Clair Parkway Commission in 1995, before it was transferred to the Ontario Heritage Trust in 2005.
context_section_description: The owner of the property surrounding the Henson home, William Chapple, saw the house as a potential tourist attraction and opened it to the public in 1948. Chapple published a book in an attempt to promote the building, The Story of Uncle Tom, and began to provide tours of the building. Admission to the house was through drop in contributions, with visitors placing their donation in a pot outside the building's access point. Chapple later sold his property to Jack Tomson. During Thomson period of property ownership, the Henson homestead was moved twice, reorienting it from its original position. Thomson later opened the entire property as a museum in 1964. Shortly after the property was formally opened into a museum, Thomson sought out Henson's descendant, Barbara Carter, to work as its curator. During Carter's tenure as the museum's curator, she helped shift the institution's focus from just chronicling Henson's life, to incorporate the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad in its exhibits.
  In 1984, the property was sold to Kent County, who operated the museum until 1995, when the property was transferred to the St. Clair Parkway Commission. A C$1.2 million restoration of the property took place the year the property was transferred to the commission; restoring the buildings to their older configurations and constructing a visitor centre. In 1999, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada placed a plaque next to the grave of Henson, recognizing him as a "Canadian of National Historic Significance". 
  In 2005, the property was transferred again to the Ontario Heritage Trust, an agency of Ontario's Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. In the same year, three historic buildings on the property were designated as heritage buildings through the provincial Ontario Heritage Act. In the 2010s, the museum's administration considered renaming the historic site to reflect Henson's actual name, and to avoid association with the derogatory Uncle Tom moniker that emerged from late-19th century minstrel shows.
caption: The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada placed a plaque next to Henson's grave in 1999
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