The restoration of a historic cemetery in Alberta has achieved a big milestone. On July 12, everlasting headstones had been put in at Bethel Baptist Cemetery close to Barrhead, Alta. This cemetery stands as a poignant reminder of the Black pioneer group of Campsie, a bunch whose legacy endures within the area.
Situated roughly 120 kilometers northwest of Edmonton, Barrhead now boasts 13 everlasting headstones honoring group members. Moreover, one grave, discovered to be in good situation, didn’t require gravestone placement.
The restoration efforts had been a collaborative endeavor involving descendants of the unique settler households, the Barrhead Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Barrhead and District Household Group Help Providers. Collectively, they labored tirelessly to revive the cemetery and lift funds for the stone markers.
Bethel Baptist Cemetery holds particular significance because the land was initially donated by James Moses Beaver and Hattie Beaver, distinguished Black settlers in Campsie. A number of unique outbuildings from their period nonetheless stand close by. Amongst these interred is George Kenneth Beaver, whose brief life in 1940 is memorialized right here.
Campsie itself was established within the early 1900s, a refuge for African-Individuals fleeing the oppressive Jim Crow legal guidelines in america. Motivated by the promise of free land, a whole bunch migrated northward, with roughly 1,000 crossing into Canada by 1911. Alberta turned residence to a number of rural settlements the place they constructed close-knit communities: Campsie, Junkins (now Wildwood), Keystone (now Breton), and Pine Creek (now Amber Valley).
Reflecting on this heritage, one descendant, Beaver, shared recollections of her father who lived his whole life in Campsie. She goals to protect and share Campsie’s historical past additional by way of an upcoming documentary challenge.
The restoration of Bethel Baptist Cemetery not solely honors particular person lives but additionally ensures that the profound legacy of Campsie’s pioneering African-American group endures for future generations.
