ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — A historic Black church in St. Catharines, Ont., is getting $100,000 of federal funding.
Salem Chapel BME Church was designated a national historic site in 1999 as the home congregation of Harriet Tubman.
Tubman was a leading figure in the abolitionist movement of the late 1800s.
She helped African Americans escape from slavery as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, smuggling them from the United States to Canada.
Still an active church, Salem Chapel launched a GoFundMe campaign in September 2017 for an emergency restoration.
That campaign closed last week, having surpassed its goal of $100,000.
Chris Bittle, federal member of Parliament for St. Catharines, announced the federal funding on Monday.
Bittle tweeted that the federal money "will ensure that Tubman's story can be told for generations to come in a place she called home."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2021.
The Canadian Press
