Fort Erie in Niagara Region, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Niagara's Freedom Trail - Little Africa

An African-American heritage tour

Photographed by Kevin Westell, July 18, 2025

1. Niagara's Freedom Trail - Little Africa - Marker

Inscription. Slaves who escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad settled in many different communities near the U.S. border. Around Fort Erie there were three different clusters of Black settlement including one that emerged north of Fort Erie and east of Stevensville by the 1840's. It became known as Little Africa.

Little Africa stretched along the Sunset Indian Trail (Curtis Rd. & Miller Ave.) to the Niagara River and was a convenient point for transportation. Miller's Creek Marina marks the end of that trail. The Erie and Niagara Railroad ran through the settlement and many of the inhabitants were employed cutting wood for fuel for the nearby Canada Southern Railway and the steamboats which plied the Niagara River.

The population of Little Africa grew to approximately 200 when in 1880 it declined because of decreasing demand for wood from the area. A nearby graveyard remains as a legacy to this once thriving community of industrious Blacks.

Erected by The Region Niagara Tourist Council.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.

Location. 42° 57.121′ N,

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78° 58.303′ W. Marker is in Fort Erie, Ontario, in Niagara Region. It can be reached from Niagara River Parkway, on the right when traveling north. The marker is on a low flat rock, 20 metres north of the road, just left of a driveway for the parking lot of the marina. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2400 Niagara River Pkwy, Fort Erie ON L2A 5M4, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe

and in Niagara Canada.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Marina (within shouting distance of this marker); The Welland Canal at the Niagara Frontier (within shouting distance of this marker); Bert Miller (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Crossing of the River Brethren (approx. 0.6

Niagara's Freedom Trail - Little Africa - Marker in context image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Kevin Westell, July 18, 2025

2. Niagara's Freedom Trail - Little Africa - Marker in context

kilometers away); For the Birds (approx. 1.4 kilometers away in the U.S.); Restoring Nature (approx. 1.4 kilometers away in the U.S.); Gonder's Flats (approx. 1.4 kilometers away); Mackenzie's Crossing 1837 (approx. 2.2 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Erie.

Photographed by Kevin Westell, July 18, 2025

3. Niagara's Freedom Trail - Little Africa - Marker in context

The rock with this marker (just left of centre) is close to the driveway and parking lot for the marina, beside a black silhouette marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 19, 2025, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario. This page has been viewed 222 times since then and 124 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 19, 2025, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.