We have chronicled this story before, but on Friday, February 24, 2023 at 2 pm, as part of Black History Month, Heritage Mississauga together with Ward 11 Councillor Brad Butt will formally unveil an interpretive plaque that recalls the 1857 visit by Solomon Northup to Streetsville.

For those who have read the book, or watched the movie 12 Years a Slave, the name Solomon Northup may be known to you. Solomon, who was African American, was free-born circa 1807 in Hebron, New York. Solomon and his wife, Anne Hampton, had three children: Elizabeth, Margaret and Alonzo. Solomon worked as a farmer and raftsman. After moving to Saratoga Spring, New York in 1834, Solomon found work on the Champlain Canal as a skilled carpenter. Solomon was also well-known as a skilled fiddle player.

In 1841, at the age of 32, Solomon was tricked into going to Washington D.C., where slavery was legal. He was kidnapped and sold into slavery, ripped away from his wife, children and the freedom he had been born into. Solomon was sold to a preacher from Louisiana. Over the next several years, Solomon was sold twice more, and endured a great deal of hardships. On January 4, 1853, after living 12 years as a slave, Solomon regained his freedom and rejoined his family in New York. Solomon wrote Twelve Years a Slave in 1853.

During the summer of 1857, Solomon was in Canada for a series of lectures, supported by the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada. Reverend Robert Ure of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Streetsville may have helped to bring Solomon to Streetsville – Reverend Ure was a director with the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada. Solomon was scheduled to speak at the Town Hall on Monday, August 17, 1857. However, a hostile reception prevented him from speaking. Solomon was safely escorted out of the situation by Streetsville hotel-keeper Robert Stephens. The Globe newspaper recounted the harsh welcome he received in Streetsville:

“… when a negro named Solomon Northrup, a fugitive slave from New Orleans, was about to commence a lecture at the Town Hall, in that place, on the subject of slavery in the United States, he was interrupted by cries … The noise and confusion was so great, and so universal on the part of the crowd, that Northurp was forced to leave the hall under an escort of friends.” (The Globe newspaper, August 19, 1857)

Solomon’s whereabouts after his visit to Streetsville are unknown. There are unconfirmed references to him being alive in 1863, but the location and circumstances of his death are also uncertain.

Although the story of Solomon’s visit to Streetsville in August of 1857 shows us that racism and discrimination in historic Mississauga were an ever-present threat, it also shows us that the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada was active in support of the abolitionist movement. It also shows us that local people such as Reverend Robert Ure and Robert Stephens, along with others, were working towards a future that would be welcoming and inclusive. While that ideal remains a work in progress, our hope is that the plaque marking Solomon’s visit to Streetsville will aid in the conversations around documenting and celebrating our Black history stories here in Mississauga and beyond.

Please join us, together with Ward 11 Councillor Brad Butt, at Timothy Street Park (155 Church Street) in Streetsville on Friday, February 24 at 2 pm. Street parking available, and look for the windmill. Special thank you to former Ward 11 Councillor George Carlson who supported the development of the plaque, and to Malcolm Byard of the Streetsville Historical Society who brought the local story of Solomon’s visit to light several years ago.