Black Loyalist Heritage Centre

2025 Governors Awards

Old School | Black Loyalist Heritage Centre

The National Trust for Canada’s Board of Governors has presented the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre with a Governors’ Award for their restoration of the Old School House Museum and creation of an interpretive and immersive exhibition celebrating the legacy of Black education in Nova Scotia.  

Rooted in Birchtown, Nova Scotia — one of the earliest and largest free Black settlements in North America — the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre has, over the past decade, dedicated itself to discovering, interpreting, safeguarding, and sharing the remarkable history of the Black Loyalists, the first free Black settlers in Canada. 

Since opening its doors in 2015, the Centre has welcomed more than 40,000 visitors from around the world. Through powerful exhibits, community programming, and educational initiatives, it invites all who visit to learn, reflect, and connect with this extraordinary story of freedom, perseverance, and belonging. 

In 2024, the Black Loyalist Heritage Society completed the restoration of the Old Birchtown Schoolhouse — built in 1835 and believed to be among the first integrated schools in Nova Scotia. Once a vibrant community hub that closed in 1961, the school had fallen into disrepair. Through meticulous conservation work, the Society returned the building to its historic condition and created an immersive new exhibit celebrating the enduring legacy of Black education in the province. 

This project reconnects the community to a powerful story of resilience, learning, and identity. By bringing new life to the Old Birchtown Schoolhouse, the Society honours generations of Black Nova Scotians whose pursuit of education shaped not only their community but the province itself. 

The Governors have chosen to highlight this project as an exceptional example of how historic places can preserve collective memory, foster understanding, and strengthen cultural identity.