Chapel reopens after decade-long campaign to restore it

As the yellow ribbon was cut and the doors finally opened, the former Fugitive Slave Chapel begins life anew. It is a day many have been dreaming of and working towards for decades.

“I'm proud because I remember the day when this came. I have been dealing with this building since the 1990s,” former City Councilor Harold Usher said while viewing the restored interior.

Usher was one of the first public figures to advocate for the former Fugitive Slave Chapel and it’s preservation. London, Ont. Mayor Josh Morgan spoke about how Usher told him of its special value.

“This is something we should be talking about because this is an important place of history, not just in our city, but part of the whole context of where we were, where we come from, and also a recognition of how much further we have to go.”

After a ten-year touch and go campaign to preserve and restore the chapel, it officially opened at its new home inside Fanshawe Pioneer Village.

Carl Cadogan, who has been at the fore front of the campaign, was one of the first people through the door.

“Amazing. I remember what it looked like before inside. Particularly, you know, they did a good job of pulling apart some of the wood and using it as well,” said Cadogan.

Now the chapel's long and at times frustrating journey is complete. Finally home at Fanshawe Pioneer Village, the focus now turns to the plan and the purpose of this restored structure.

“There will be programing designed for this space and we have hired out our researcher, a historical researcher, to really dig deep into stories of London, stories about the chapel,” said Christina Lord. She is a member of the Black History Coordinating Committee. She added that the chapel will play a role and influence the entire village.

Janice Searles of the British Methodist Episcopal Church spoke eloquently of the impact the chapel can now have as an educational tool.

“We are grateful to be able to continue the discussion, not because we have to be courageous in discussing the travesty of the past, but learn from it and have those intentional conversations for others to be able to just bring their history a little further along,” said Searles.

The African Methodist Episcopal Chapel underwent a $300,000 rehabilitation after moving from Grey Street to its permanent home at the Pioneer Village.

The structure dates back to 1848 and was in danger of being beyond help until a fundraising effort to make the move and repairs was realized through generous government grants.