*The Dawn settlement was formed on this date in 1842. Often called Dawn, this was a Canadian refuge community and a place of work for former American slaves.
Josiah Henson and Hiram Wilson formed it with 200 acres of property purchased. Henson also purchased an additional 200 acres of land adjacent to the community, later selling 100 acres back to the Dawn settlement. The settlement grew several crops and cultivated eastern black walnut lumber to export to the United Kingdom and the United States.
In 1842, Henson helped co-found the British-American Institute in Dawn, which provided its settlers with vocational education. A sawmill within the settlement produced products that won Henson a medal at the Great Exhibition in London. In 1849, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society assumed management of the settlement due to administrative problems.
