Chevy Trailblazer Road Trip: The sights and history of the Underground Railroad

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Okay, I admit it: we’re huge nerds in this household. While other couples save ticket stubs from festivals and concerts, we save museum brochures and membership cards. And yes, we’ve had more than a few dates in some of these dusty, static buildings filled with bones, busts and bored children.

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It’s been a struggle to get much hands-on learning during the past year, as museums and other historical sites have been closed. So we did the next best thing and hit the road to learn something new about the province and country .

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Our tool for the job was the subcompact Chevrolet Trailblazer crossover. If we’re seeking out some history about leaders in our country, why not drive the car with such a name? Finished in an eye-catching bright blue with a contrasting black roof, the Trailblazer is small but practical, with more space than the Chevy Trax, but a similar starting price of about $24,000. The range-topping RS model we were driving starts at $30,000 and included a $2,000 Technology package, which was pretty generous for a car of this status. Safety, convenience and smart technology are all found in this small crossover.

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However, perhaps some of these features are simply expected these days. Safety tech and driver aids are found as standard equipment on many other vehicles, so it may sound like a silly thing to celebrate here. The Trailblazer comes with lane-keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection and offers a rear parking assist, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control. While common in new cars these days, it can be a big step up for shoppers coming from older vehicles.

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Heading to Uncle Tom’s Cabin

The plan for our road trip was to head west from Toronto to learn about the Underground Railroad and Canada’s presentation of safety for Black Americans fleeing slavery in the mid-to-late 19th century. While Canada was practically built on a railroad, the Underground Railroad was a series of safe houses for slaves to escape into free states and Canada.

Though hardly a winding trip, one could opt to take Longwoods Road, formerly known as Highway 2, to get a taste of the local living. West of London, there’s farmland — and a lot of it. Count too many sheep and you may worry about dozing off, but our eyes kept darting upwards to catch a glimpse of the Ford Raptors and birds of prey that hunt around this area.

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Our first stop on the tour was Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Dresden, Ontario. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an important anti-slavery book that detailed the lives and experiences of black slaves. Although the titular character Uncle Tom was fictional, he was based on Josiah Henson, a slave that escaped to Canada.

It was Henson’s memoir The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself that helped Stowe’s novel come to life. Henson wrote his autobiography after he escaped to Canada, and established the Dawn settlement as a refuge and opportunity for employment for former slaves. A place by former slaves, for former slaves, who could learn trades and earn some money of their own. They grew crops and sold eastern black walnut lumber to the US and UK.

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Arriving at the open-air museum in April, it surprised me that access to this historical building was limited. It’s all outdoors, with plenty of plaques, historical buildings and open space to enjoy. But just outside the cabin is a memorial of Henson’s life, marked with a crown to commemorate his visit with Queen Victoria. He died at the age of 93, and his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Dresden, with a three-kilometre procession to the gravesite.

The drive to the historic site was exciting and energetic. Though the Trailblazer isn’t the fastest or quietest crossover, the 1.3-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine did its best to hustle the crossover along the highway and rural routes. The nine-speed automatic is an average performer: though mostly smooth, it clunked its way through some slower speeds and lacks refinement.

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And while the long road trip was stimulating, the interior accompaniments could be improved. The seats aren’t very comfortable, even in this range-topping model. However, it was equipped with a few niceties to make the drive more bearable and distract us from these shortcomings. Wireless Android Auto, for example, allowed us to listen to a few podcasts while on the road and described not only the Underground Railroad, but also the importance of these newcomers and their contributions to Canadian culture. An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 slaves entered Canada seeking freedom during the last decade of slavery in the US, and some stayed for the long run, setting roots.

Generations of Black Canadians and individuals have helped Canada in establishing itself today. Many, like Captain Richard Pierpoint and William Edward Hall, fought in wars for the country or causes for their people. Some, like boxer Sam Langford, or singer Portia White, performed on a global scale. Inventors and business owners like Elijah McCoy (whose inventions included the portable ironing board, lawn sprinklers and automatic lubrication devices for steam engines), James Mink (a hotel owner and millionaire in Toronto) and John Ware (a rancher in Alberta who popularized the sport of cattle steering) made their mark on Canada and the world. While the history of slavery in America all but guaranteed a difficult life for those of African Descent, the promise of freedom in Canada cultivated a different story.

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Next up: Buxton National Historic Site

Our next stop on our trip was to Chatham, Ontario, a short distance away from Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Dawn Settlement. Chatham is where one can find the Buxton National Historic Site, which commemorates the final stop in the Underground Railroad. First founded in 1849, Elgin Settlement is where Reverend William King arrived with his 15 slaves to set them free. While there was a petition against the settlement from 300 local landowners, King received some help from Lord Elgin and established the Elgin Association, which purchased 9,000 acres of crown land as a haven for fugitive slaves. The land would be split into 50-acre farms for the new settlers and future ones, and King helped open a school, savings bank and brickworks as well.

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At the Historic Site, you can still see an 1861 schoolhouse, an 1854 log cabin, and a barn, but perhaps the most standout item is the 550-pound bell found right at the front of the site. Although this bell is a replica of the original, it’s said that the Buxton Bell rang every time a fugitive slave arrived via the Underground Railroad, celebrating their arrival and newfound freedom.

Buxton still celebrates its history with a four-day Homecoming, though the 2020 event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Buxton Homecoming Website, the settlement was home to about 2,000 people of African descent, who have since moved back to the US or throughout Canada. The homecoming is a pilgrimage of sorts, first started in 1924, where memories are rekindled, and ties and acquaintances are renewed.

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Where to next?

Those seeking to extend the road trip should continue onwards to Olde Sandwich Towne in Windsor, which features a church that was granted to the newly freed slaves by Queen Victoria. However, whenever slave-hunting bounty hunters came through town, the church rang a specific bell to signal runaways to hide. There’s also the John Freeman Walls Historic Site in Lakeshore, Ontario, which helps describe John and Jane Walls’ life as well as the Refugee Home Society which had purchased land to help freed newcomers to find work in their new home.

Heading home, I think back to how important these museums, historical sites, and stories are. While we hunker down to prevent the spread of COVID, and all go stir-crazy, we also lose some of the perspectives that these places help provide. While everyone may be born equal, some had to and continue to fight for freedoms that we take for granted. While free, those fights continue today for equality, and this road trip helped illustrate the importance of these fights. The side of the Buxton Historic Site and Museum, has the words “We Shall Overcome” in bright lettering, showing that even though the site and city has a history of freeing slaves, there are still civil rights to be won, ignorance to enlighten, and racism to stamp out — not just here in Canada, but all over the world.

Reading the plaques looking in from outside these sites helps to remind us of the history of Canada. Still, we can’t wait to make these trips again when restrictions ease and we can learn even more about the country we call home.