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There were
two major
groups of Blacks to immigrate to Nova Scotia: the Black Loyalists between 1776 and 1784,
during and after the American Revolution; and then, after the War of
1812,
another group of Black refugees arrived in Nova Scotia. In particular, Blacks from the second group
settled in Hants County, in the
area known as Windsor Plains. It was a
challenge for Black settlers in Nova Scotia in the
1800’s to gain an education for their children.
With the passing of the “Grammar School Act”,
of 1811, it was not
specified that separate schools were required, but the reality is that
Blacks
were not allowed to attend local grammar schools. In
1826, the “Act Concerning Schools” was
passed, but did not alleviate the continuing inability of the Black
community
to school their children in the public system. It
was another ten years, in 1836, before a
minor school act made it possible for local
school boards to
use public funds to establish separate schools for Black children.
Another act
called, “An
Act for the Encouragement of Schools” was passed in 1845, with a
reference to
grants for “Schools for People of Colour”.
While the exact date of the building and opening of the Five Mile Plains School –
now
known as the Windsor Plains Community Hall - is
not known, a reference to the “recently
completed” school is made in the House of Assembly in February of
1845.
The
historic value of
this building is in the original form of the one room school house
which can
still be seen despite the additions made over the years.
It is a simple style, and still has the
original corner boards, pitched roof, overhang, and wooden exterior
shingles. When the school ceased operating
in 1963, the
deed was transferred from the Municipality of the District of West
Hants to the
Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1964. After a few years, it was then transferred to
the Windsor Plains Recreation and Social Development Association. The West Hants African Advisory Association
was created in 2004, and ownership of the hall transferred to that
group
shortly afterwards, who have been using it as the Windsor Plains
Community
Hall.
At
the regional and
provincial level, the Windsor Plains Community Hall (Five Mile Plains School) is one
of the last one room segregated school house remaining in Nova Scotia. It is an ongoing reminder of the challenges
that the local Black community members faced in the first generations
after
arriving in Nova Scotia. At the community level, the
building has served a number of functions – a school house, a
Sunday school, a
community gathering place. It holds a
prominent location at the corner of Pellow Road and
Highway 1, and is regarded with warmth and affection by those who have
attended
it as a school, and as a meeting place for all occasions.
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