How TDAP is helping a new generation discover Birchtown’s Black Loyalist history

People still arrive at the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Birchtown and tell staff they had no idea it was there. Others know something about Black history in Canada, but are surprised to learn how the Black Loyalists came to Nova Scotia and built communities here.

For Ufuoma Lawal, Curator, Visitor Experience, those moments show why the Centre’s work matters — and why more people need to hear its stories.

“We’re in a small town,” she said. “Some people don’t know about it, haven’t heard about it.”

The Centre shares the history of the thousands of Black Loyalists who arrived in Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. Visitors can explore exhibits, historic buildings and a heritage trail in Birchtown. They can also search the Book of Negroes, a record containing the names and details of people who left New York with the British in 1783.

Their arrival was only the beginning of the story Ufuoma wants visitors to understand. Freedom did not mean an easy start in Nova Scotia.

“Yes, you’re free, but there was no provision,” she said. “They had to start from scratch.”

Making it easier to find the story

The Centre’s website is often where someone first learns about Birchtown or decides to visit. But according to Ufuoma, its older site had not kept pace with the experience the team wanted to offer. When Ufuoma saw an opportunity to update it through the Tourism Digital Assistance Program (TDAP), she applied.

Delivered by Digital Nova Scotia in partnership with Tourism Nova Scotia, TDAP helps tourism organizations improve their online presence by connecting them with digital service providers.

Ufuoma said the support was especially welcome as the Centre works with limited programming funds.

“Giving us the platform, giving us the money to be able to reach a wider audience … It’s just completely amazing for us,” she said.

Visitors can now find events more easily, request guided tours online and use QR codes around the Centre to continue exploring on the website.

The rebuild also brought the Centre’s searchable version of the Book of Negroes onto its updated site. Someone planning a visit can begin looking into a family connection beforehand. Someone farther away can explore the record, too.

“You can go to the website and search for the name you’re looking for,” Ufuoma said. “You don’t even have to physically be here to be able to get all that information.”

Reaching the people who will carry it forward

The Centre welcomed roughly 4,300 visitors last year. Feedback collected on-site offers a small indication of the website’s role in helping people discover it: of 13 visitor surveys reviewed by the team, six respondents said they had learned about the Centre through its website.

“We have a wider reach of people saying they want to come because they got to know about us through the website and through our online marketing,” she said.

For the Centre’s six-person team, that is an encouraging start. But bringing in visitors is only part of the goal. The Centre’s 2025–2029 strategic plan also focuses on reaching young people with Black Loyalist history.

“Where can you find them? Online. That’s the best place for us to reach them,” Ufuoma said.

She wants young people to learn what Black Loyalists faced after arriving in Nova Scotia, and to recognize how long their descendants have been part of this province. Knowing that history, she believes, can change how they understand one another.

“For the youth to understand history,” Ufuoma said, “is to help them be more inclusive.”

The Centre’s work online is continuing. It has been accepted into another round of TDAP, this time with a focus on social media. Ufuoma hopes it will help more young people discover and visit the Centre and understand that Black Loyalist history is part of Nova Scotia’s story.