British Columbia
Commemorating the Arrival of the Black Pioneers in 1858
Fort Victoria
To commemorate early Victoria pioneers and settlers, a double row of bricks was laid from 1000 to 1150 Government Street and in Bastion Square, known as the Fort Victoria Brick Project. Each brick is engraved with the name of a pioneer.
Black Pioneers with Engraved Bricks
Brick No. 22 in Bastion Square
Nathan & Sarah Pointer
Nathan Pointer owned a men’s clothing and accessories store on Government Street.
Brick No. 23 in Bastion Square
Louis & Sylvia Stark
The Starks initially settled in South Saanich in 1859. They moved to Salt Spring Island in 1860 where he worked as a dairyman and farmer and she worked the farm, tending the animals and orchards and also worked as a midwife. Sylvia lived to be 106!
Brick No. 24 in Bastion Square
Howard & Hannah Estes
Howard and Hannah Estes are Sylvia Stark’s parents. They were farmers who settled in the South Saanich area. Hannah Estes is buried at Pioneer Square (the Old Burying Ground), located at the south end of Quadra Street between Meares Street and Rockland Ave. in Victoria.
Brick No. 25 in Bastion Square
Ringo’s Restaurant
Samuel Ringo owned a restaurant, situated on Yates Street, that was noted as the best in Victoria.
Brick No. 44 in Bastion Square
Wellington Delaney Moses
Moses owned and operated several businesses in Victoria and Barkerville including barbershops, salons and bath houses. Lady Franklin, wife of the Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, stayed at Wellington’s home with her niece Sophia Cracroft in 1861.
Brick No. 654–655 in Bastion Square
Sir James Douglas and Lady Amelia Douglas
Sir James Douglas was the governor of Vancouver Island in 1858. It is Douglas who sent an emissary to San Francisco to meet with Black residents and invite them to immigrate to Vancouver Island.
Brick No. 1106 — between 1130 and 1140 Government Street
James and Mary Louisa (née Lowe) Barnswell
Barnswell was a carpenter who built some of Victoria’s most elegant homes and was a prominent member of the Victoria community during the 1870s. He is said to have been a private carpenter for Sir James Douglas and to have built a church on the corner of Pandora and Quadra in Victoria.
Brick No. 2232 — at 1016 Government Street
Charles and Nancy Alexander
On July 1, 1858, Charles, Nancy and their two children boarded the ship Oregon to Victoria in response to Sir James Douglas’ call for colonists. They made their home on a site later occupied by the Hudson’s Bay Company at the corner of Douglas and Fisgard Streets. In the fall of 1861, the Alexanders moved to South Saanich where the family farmed for 33 years.
Brick No. 2526 — at 1000 to 1002 Government Street
Mifflin Wistar Gibbs
Gibbs is considered the leader of the emigration of the 600 Blacks to Vancouver Island. His business interests and achievements are varied and numerous. On August 4, 2009 the Government of Canada recognized his historical significance: “Our government is proud to honor a man who worked tirelessly for the local Black Community as a politician, businessman, and defender of human rights.”