source: Farm and Food Report
When Leander K. Lane, a descendant of the first African American settlers in Saskatchewan, set his mind on restoring the Shiloh Baptist Church and Cemetery - established in 1911 north of Maidstone - what started out as a heritage preservation effort became an intense personal journey.
“My great grandfather Julius Caesar Lane was the first person to be buried in the cemetery in 1913,” Lane says. “My father lived in the area until the 1950s. There are no longer any black families living there — I live in Edmonton — but I became interested in finding out more about the Shiloh people and their history.”
At the beginning of the 20th century, African Americans answered the call for new settlers with the lure of free homesteads if they travelled north to Canada, from their native Oklahoma.
With very few means, dozens of these families arrived in Saskatchewan around 1910, from which 12 families settled in the Eldon District north of Maidstone. The rest carried on their quest and eventually created the community of Amber Valley in northern Alberta. By the following year, the new Saskatchewan residents had started to build from squared logs a church for their community.
By the late 1940s, most of these families left the area and, by 1971, only one member of the original group was left. In 1971, when the Saskatchewan Homecoming 71 celebration was held, the building was in serious need of repair.
At that time, the provincial government was providing funding for homecoming projects across the province, so the North of the Gully District Committee - made up of a group of individuals from the five surrounding districts of Mclaren, Middleton, Dry Gully, Standard Hill and Eldon - decided that the restoration of Shiloh Church would be a worthy project. Tractor blades were bolted to the walls to reinforce them, flooring was repaired, and the roof was re-shingled in preparation for the celebration.
In October 2002, Lane and 10 other interested descendants of the Shiloh people created the Shiloh Baptist Church and Cemetery Restoration Society. Their first goal was to raise the funds to create a monument to commemorate the history of the community. But the most ambitious project was yet to come. The church building was in dire need of repairs. Lane and his group went about raising $20,000 in cash donations to completely restore this important municipal heritage property, with the help of another $20,000 from the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation.
“The restoration work started in late October of 2004,” Lane says. “We had to replace half the logs of the building, including 75 per cent of the north wall, which was beyond repair. We had to replace all the joists; poured concrete pads; then we re-laid all the original foundation stones. We repaired some windows, put in new doors, and installed new flooring - and we’re not nearly done.” The Society is currently trying to raise funds to pay for daubing and chinking, new shingles, and some additional landscaping needs.
“Seven senior members of the Society were born in Saskatchewan,” Lane says. “And while we younger members never lived in the area, we all have in common this desire to preserve our heritage. With the help of the R.M., our Society has legally acquired the cemetery grounds and the church. It was recognized early on that we had a certain moral authority to do this, and we are really pleased that the Rural Municipality of Eldon and people of Maidstone have been this supportive of our initiative.”
Today, Leander K. Lane is a heavy-duty mechanic working for Canadian National Railway, with a significant part of himself invested in a beautiful site in the Saskatchewan parkland, sheltered by tall evergreens and trembling aspen groves.
“I guess, in a way, I also take pride in how the elders who have this direct and quite vivid experience of life in the Eldon District trust me to guide the development of the site in a respectful — yet inclusive — manner,” says Lane. “Our intentions are simple: celebrating the contribution of African American settlers to Western Canadian society.”
For more information, contact:
Leander K. Lane
Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery Restoration Society
(780) 478-9969
When Leander K. Lane, a descendant of the first African American settlers in Saskatchewan, set his mind on restoring the Shiloh Baptist Church and Cemetery - established in 1911 north of Maidstone - what started out as a heritage preservation effort became an intense personal journey.
“My great grandfather Julius Caesar Lane was the first person to be buried in the cemetery in 1913,” Lane says. “My father lived in the area until the 1950s. There are no longer any black families living there — I live in Edmonton — but I became interested in finding out more about the Shiloh people and their history.”
At the beginning of the 20th century, African Americans answered the call for new settlers with the lure of free homesteads if they travelled north to Canada, from their native Oklahoma.
With very few means, dozens of these families arrived in Saskatchewan around 1910, from which 12 families settled in the Eldon District north of Maidstone. The rest carried on their quest and eventually created the community of Amber Valley in northern Alberta. By the following year, the new Saskatchewan residents had started to build from squared logs a church for their community.
By the late 1940s, most of these families left the area and, by 1971, only one member of the original group was left. In 1971, when the Saskatchewan Homecoming 71 celebration was held, the building was in serious need of repair.
At that time, the provincial government was providing funding for homecoming projects across the province, so the North of the Gully District Committee - made up of a group of individuals from the five surrounding districts of Mclaren, Middleton, Dry Gully, Standard Hill and Eldon - decided that the restoration of Shiloh Church would be a worthy project. Tractor blades were bolted to the walls to reinforce them, flooring was repaired, and the roof was re-shingled in preparation for the celebration.
In October 2002, Lane and 10 other interested descendants of the Shiloh people created the Shiloh Baptist Church and Cemetery Restoration Society. Their first goal was to raise the funds to create a monument to commemorate the history of the community. But the most ambitious project was yet to come. The church building was in dire need of repairs. Lane and his group went about raising $20,000 in cash donations to completely restore this important municipal heritage property, with the help of another $20,000 from the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation.
“The restoration work started in late October of 2004,” Lane says. “We had to replace half the logs of the building, including 75 per cent of the north wall, which was beyond repair. We had to replace all the joists; poured concrete pads; then we re-laid all the original foundation stones. We repaired some windows, put in new doors, and installed new flooring - and we’re not nearly done.” The Society is currently trying to raise funds to pay for daubing and chinking, new shingles, and some additional landscaping needs.
“Seven senior members of the Society were born in Saskatchewan,” Lane says. “And while we younger members never lived in the area, we all have in common this desire to preserve our heritage. With the help of the R.M., our Society has legally acquired the cemetery grounds and the church. It was recognized early on that we had a certain moral authority to do this, and we are really pleased that the Rural Municipality of Eldon and people of Maidstone have been this supportive of our initiative.”
Today, Leander K. Lane is a heavy-duty mechanic working for Canadian National Railway, with a significant part of himself invested in a beautiful site in the Saskatchewan parkland, sheltered by tall evergreens and trembling aspen groves.
“I guess, in a way, I also take pride in how the elders who have this direct and quite vivid experience of life in the Eldon District trust me to guide the development of the site in a respectful — yet inclusive — manner,” says Lane. “Our intentions are simple: celebrating the contribution of African American settlers to Western Canadian society.”
For more information, contact:
Leander K. Lane
Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery Restoration Society
(780) 478-9969
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