New information is emerging each year on the journey of Enerals Griffin from life as a slave in a Virginia plantation to a new beginning in rural Ancaster, starting with his arrival here in 1829.

Guests can learn more about Ancaster’s unique link to Black History Month on Feb. 15 when the Griffin House opens to the public for the Family Day holiday. The fully restored 1827 four-room frame house overlooks a meadow that once included some of the valley’s mount bountiful farm crops.

Anne Jarvis, a Griffin House volunteer, said new information contained in an 1837 article by Hiram Wilson reveals Griffin’s exceptional farming abilities. Wilson travelled to Upper Canada in 1836 to compile a report on the progress of fugitive slaves who had escaped to freedom.

Wilson reports that Griffin spent time in Cincinnati in 1829, where city residents protested the arrival of escaped slaves who were viewed as competition for jobs.

By his seventh year in Ancaster, Griffin was producing 1,000 bushels of wheat, 1,000 bushels of corn and 400 bushels of oats. The high yields almost certainly indicate Griffin had leased additional farm land to supplement his 50-acre property in Ancaster.

The article, printed in a publication called Upper Canada Emancipator, is based on an interview between the author and Griffin. The article was recently discovered by Ancaster resident Paul Grimwood from a source in the U. S.

Enerals Griffin and his wife, Priscilla, escaped slavery in the late 1820s, before the advent of the underground railroad.

For years, researchers believed Enerals and Priscilla crossed the border at Niagara. They may have stolen a horse or stage coach for their northern journey.

“We’re sure he came to Canada in 1829, but we always thought he crossed at Niagara Falls,” said Jarvis.

Enerals and Priscilla had just one child of their own, but their eight grandchildren remained in the area.

As a slave, Enerals’ love for Priscilla, a white woman, would have been strictly forbidden.

In his article, Wilson speculates the Griffin family farm must have included other rented farm properties in order to produce such an impressive yield. Enerals’ farming prowess would have provided an excellent living for his family as well as a steady income for his landlord.

“His landlord is unwilling to let his land to any other as long as he will cultivate it,” Wilson states in his article.

Griffin family descendants continued to live and work at the Mineral Springs Road farm for nearly 150 years until the 1980s when the property was acquired by the Hamilton Conservation Authority.

The home’s past came to light after workers found a lithograph of the Old Kentucky Home posted on a wall. After careful restoration to strip away layers of stucco and a modern addition, the home was returned to its pre-Confederation period, complete with a fireplace and period bedroom furniture.

Fieldcote Memorial Park and Museum now oversees historical interpretation.

To commemorate Black History Month, guests can participate in a Black History hike to the Griffin House on Feb. 15 from 1-4 p. m. Hikers should wear boots and gloves for a guided tour from the Hermitage parking lot to the Griffin House for a tour of the home and hot cider. Parking and access is available at the Hermitage only, on Sulphur Springs Road.

You can also explore black history indoors at the Parks Canada Discovery Centre, 57 Discovery Drive, Hamilton Harbour.

The centre will be open from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. on Family Day. Tickets to both events are $10 each or $25 for a family.

Tickets are available at Fieldcote, 64 Sulphur Springs Road, Ancaster. Contact Fieldcote at 905-648-8144.