"A Disgraceful Riot"

The 1863 Race Riot in Oil Springs

"We regret to learn that a disgraceful riot took place at Oil Springs . . . As in the shameful proceeding which occurred in Detroit was colourphobia." _{-- The Sarnia Observer, March 19, 1863}

Alt Text: Image of a newspaper clipping. Transcript: Article reads as follows, "Fugitive Slaves in Canada, Public Meeting. One of the most interesting meetings that have yet taken place in this city in connection with slavery, was held in the Merchants' Hall on Monday evening. On former occasions, we heard much of the horrors of slavery, but on this occasion the subject was Canada--the 'city of refuge' for those who are so fortunate as to escape from that house of bondage, the United States. On the South side of the St. Lawrence, a colored person is not his own--his existence as a man is ignored--the laws of the 'model republic' afford him less protection from the will of his owner, than the horse or the dog enjoys in this country under the enactments against cruelty to animals. On the north side, under the less pretentious monarchical government, there is for the colored man every right and privilege, which a community of white men under the most favourable circumstances have ever enjoyed. Under the striped and star-spangled banner, the African is a commodity--a machine to be sold, bought, and wrought, as the presumptuous white thinks proper; while, under the British standard, he is himself, his own property, a man! There too, on the [Clip ends]" — "Fugitive Slaves in Canada," Article from the Sarnia Observer, February 6th, 1862.

The riot on March 14th, 1863 in Oil Springs shocked many. A race riot was not entirely unprecedented in Canada, but the last one most knew of was the Shelburne riot from almost 100 years prior.

Canada had long framed itself as a more accepting place than its southern neighbour, the USA. Although Canada served as a haven from enslavement for Black people, things were not perfect. Racism ran deep and Black people faced discrimination and anger from many Canadians. The Oil Springs riot flew in the face of Canada’s own perceived neutrality and forced many to face the reality of Canadian racism.

Even so, as enslaved Black people escaped bondage via the Underground Railroad, many continued past the northern states into Canada. Freed-people also left the USA for Canada. Black settlements dotted Upper Canada (today Ontario) and Black populations grew in cities such as Windsor, London, Chatham, and Amherstburg. Most of these areas were "terminal points" of the Underground Railroad.

Black Settlements and Underground Railroad Terminal Points, SW Ontario. Oil Springs is marked as a red star. Click on a point to see the settlement's name.

In Upper Canada, the vast majority of Black people lived in Essex and Kent Counties. Lambton County housed far fewer Black residents. Enumerators, or census takers, counted 133 Black residents in the 1861 census. These residents clustered in the communities of Dawn and Sarnia, with 55 and 45 residents respectively. Oil Springs and the greater Enniskillen area had no recorded Black residents at that time.

In comparison, several towns in Kent County had larger populations of Black residents than all Lambton County; 737 Black persons resided in Chatham Gore, 669 in Camden Gore, 1252 in Chatham, and 1310 in Raleigh.

1861 Census, Black Population Distribution by County. Click on a county to see the Black population.

Scan of a section of the 1861 census from the Enniskillen area. It lists names, professions, nationalities/origins, and religions. — Page from the 1861 Census of Enniskillen.

While Black people do not appear in the 1861 census of Enniskillen or Oil Springs, the riot in 1863 clearly shows that they had moved to the area over the previous two years. This raises a few questions. Why would Black people move to Oil Springs? Where did they move from? Where did they live in town? What kind of work did they do once here?

The first question, “why would they move here,” is easy to answer. Work. The oil boom of Oil Springs was in full swing and wells had popped up across Enniskillen. Oil speculators were getting rich and looking to expand production. Drilling wells, harvesting oil and transporting it took time, muscle, and resources.

Black people were not the only ones to immigrate to the area. As the census excerpt shows, Oil Springs had also become home to Irish, Scottish, English, and American immigrants. The vast majority of Oil Springs residents worked in the oil industry. Some were investors, speculators, or related industry business owners, but most were labourers. The Black community of Enniskillen seems to have largely served as labourers. One account from a Black Chatham resident claims that Black workers in Oil Springs chopped wood for use by local cooperies and larger wells.

The Black people that moved to Oil Springs likely came from a variety of established Black communities in Ontario. The two most commonly cited places are Amherstburg and Chatham.

Historically, materials concerning minority and working-class groups haven't been collected. This has left large gaps in museums' and archives' collections. These gaps are evident when when researching early Black communities in Ontario. Unfortunately, this is the case here and there is little found about the Black population that settled briefly in Oil Springs. The lack of clear records requires turning to other materials, such as newspapers and oral histories, and then reading between the lines of existing collections.

Map of Oil Springs with Gypsie Flats and Centre Street highlighted. The Oil Museum is noted by a black diamond.

Memories and stories shared by Oil Springs residents suggest that Black residents initially lived in temporary shelters on Gypsie Flats and then moved to more substantial lean-tos along Centre Street. Newspaper reports on the riot support this claim. At the very least, it’s clear that they did not own the land they lived on--instead, they likely leased or lived on the land of their employers.

The few records that exist dealing with Oil Springs' Black population centre around the riot. These newspaper articles and court records can help us reconstruct what happened.

The general consensus of the accounts is that tensions in town had been running high due to the competition between labourers. In particular, white workers were angry at their Black counterparts for working at lower rates. These tensions are not surprising. Black people and other minorities have often been blamed for the financial misfortunes of white populations, and during the 1860s such an accusation was common.

"Up at the oil springs, the colored people have quite a little town. The white people were there, and they had all the work. They charged six shillings for sawing a cord of wood. The colored people went up there from Chatham, and, in order to get constant employment, they charged only fifty cents a cord. What did the white people do? They raised a mob, went one night and burned every shanty that belonged to a colored person, and drove them off entirely." _{-- Mr. McCullum, principal teacher of Hamilton High School, 1863-64}

However, there is a much larger context to keep in mind. In January of 1863, U.S. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation freed enslaved persons in the States, and threatened the power structures of white society. Riots occurred across the States in 1863 as tensions rose, and Canada was not immune. Just weeks before the riot at Oil Springs, there was a massive riot in Detroit. The Detroit riot might have served as a kind of spark for the Oil Springs rioters.

[Page 1] London Ont. Mar 30--36 Mrs. Jas Miller Oil Springs Ont. Dear Friend I rec. Your letter this a.m. I am in the house with a cold you know I have trouble with the bones in the old face when I get a cold. I do not know much of the refinerys [sic] so far I have touched nothing but the flowing vein, big water wein & top show as it was variously called in the different stages of working it, though I think I will drop onto the surface oil and fresh water supply this is the most interesting & strangest thing in the Oil Springs field but I think very hard to explain to outsider or even to later oil men? they [sic] are ready to conterdict [sic] any thing such as D. Thompson Morningstar Angie Sutherland Mitchell ect. In some of the history should be written something of the nigger riots this caused a terrible furor all over canada This would bring in Mr & Mrs James [Noice] He was a man of means has a large [unclear] factory or cooper shop he built a stage in one end for his boys as he called them Mrs [Noice] was a highly Educated woman [finished] music in the old countrys [sic] on some special occasions she had her piano taken there went and sang for them She was worshipped by the men. [Page 2] You know Dad was a trained singer sang with the Crosley troop of Medeville city they were his first cousins and travelled until the war broke out He sang tenor which he never [tackeled] in public after he had Dyptheria She started to sing a song one night that Dad & his favorite cousin sang all over the Eastern states and he said he could not resist and he struck in she stopped & hollered Jim [Noice] there is a man here can sing that tenor being him here and they became great friends him and Charley Ha[w]ks a runaway from one of the welthy familys [sic] of Penn & [Winters] him who with Dad tubed & shut in the Shaw well This is the woman the big negro nocked of the street and was the band that started the trouble The Americans had a meeting that night and elected a Captian that night (not one of htemselves) explained the risks he [run more] as being the leader he got well paid on the sport and they agreed to back him He was arrested & taken to London they bailed hium out and made him jump the bail it fell to [Winters] to be the man to handle the money They came to arrest him [Winters] and the gang told them they could not arrest him. Another came and [Winters] got away from the crowd and met him he pulled a gun on [Winters] and [Winters] hit him with a oak stave killing him. None of them ever heard from [Winters] after this part of the story is for you only I think likely I am the only one living who knows the inside story. Do you remember a man buying J Davidsons house & building that fine outside [chimney late] years that fellow was the Captains son. — Letter from the Oil Museum Collection dated 1936. Discusses a re-telling of the riot. A transcript of the letter is included in the alt text.

Image from a cover of a book. The background is red and the text and drawing on the book are both done in black. The title of the book is "The Negro a Beast or In the Image of God." The title frames a racist caricature of a Black man. The caricature has exagerrated lips, a very wide nose, and an elongated skull. — Cover of "The Negro a Beast," published in 1900, which includes a visual representation of the brute caricature.

What escalated the tensions in Oil Springs to the point of a riot is not clear. Some accounts, such as the one in the above letter, cite a Black man pushing a white woman as the spark for the riot. However, we should approach this claim with caution, as it falls into a trend of historic stories that have largely been proven false. Many riots and lynchings began with the story that a Black man had in some way assaulted or insulted a white woman or child. These kinds of stories fall back on one of the stereotypes white society viewed Black people through--the brute caricature.

The Oil Springs race riot took place March 14th, 1863 over the course of a few hours. The general consensus of both reports and oral histories is that rioters gathered under the leadership of one individual. Reports fail to name this leader and give varying accounts of his ethnicity. Some articles claimed the leader was American and others did not mention nationality at all.

After gathering, the rioters marched to the Black settlement on Centre Road. Here, they demanded all Black persons leave town. Rioters set the Black residents' homes on fire before they could respond, knowing no time had been given to comply with the rioters’ demands and that people were still inside. As Black residents attempted to flee their homes, the rioters chased and beat them.

Reprinted articles from the Detroit Free Press and the Montreal Commercial Advertiser in Douglass' Monthly, 1863-4, Vol. 5, Iss. 11. Text reads as follows: "We find the following additional particulars of the recent brutal demonstration at Oil Springs Canada West, in the Detroit Free Press--A riot of serious character occurred here on Saturday night, owning to a grudge against the colored people. The rioters to the number of 60 or 100, assembled at the east end of the town, chose a captain, and then marched to the dwellings of the negroes. On arriving at their destination, they ordered the negroes to leave town; and before they had tome to obey the order, the mob commenced their work of destruction by destroying the furniture belonging to the negroes, and then fired the houses, of which four were destroyed, and beating any negro they could catch. Detective McKain swore in a number of constables, and succeeded in capturing three of the rioters. It was reported that one negro was killed, but it is now denied. One is badly hurt. The others ran to the woods and escaped. Great excitement still prevails here. The Montreal Commercial Advertiser says: Oil Springs has been indulging in an eruption of negrophobia; and this odiferous neighborhood yesterday disgraced itself by an emute directed against the colored inhabitants, whose houses were destroyed and themselves driven to the woods. As those who have sustained losses have their legal remedy against the municipality, it will find this kind of amusement more expensive than profitable. We trust the government will take care that the aggressors are brought to exemplary punishment. — Reprinted articles from the Detroit Free Press and the Montreal Commercial Advertiser in Douglass' Monthly, 1863-4, Volume 5, Issue 11.

Reports on the results of the rioters' actions conflict somewhat--some claim the rioters killed a man, others claim that there were only injuries. Either way, the result was horrific. After the riot, no Black people remained in Oil Springs.

Papers in both Canada and the States condemned the rioters. The Sarnia Observer called the riot a “disgraceful incident” and the Montreal Commercial Advertiser called for the government to punish rioters. The Douglass Monthly, a Black periodical in the States, published articles about the riot, as did the Detroit Free Press.

Despite the violence of the riot and the loud outcry by papers, the consequences to rioters were minimal. Of the several people arrested by local law enforcement, only two faced trial. Of the two people tried, only John Lavins’ records survive. He was convicted of a felony in June of 1863 and received by Kensington Penitentiary (then known as the Provincial Penitentiary of Upper Canada) to serve two years.

Rioters faced no other repercussions. In fact, they achieved their goal--they ran Black people out of Oil Springs for many years to come.

An article from 1936 claims that the next Black person to set foot in Oil Springs came with the Michigan Central Railway. The article claims that, “The villagers were amused to see a tall, broad shouldered, colored chap marching from the west with a gun on his shoulder . . . A Boy Scout in the sense of the word that he was taking the motto ‘Be Prepared’ at its real value, he was making doubly sure that he would not find himself in the same unfortunate position as his former hapless brothers, hence the gun.”

Labourers working in the Lambton County oil fields were key to the growing oil industry in Oil Springs. Black and white labourers’ hard work provided the necessary resources for businesses to not only function, but develop into an innovative industry. However, the ‘better life’ in Oil Springs some Black settlers might have envisioned did not occur.

By sharing the information we can glean from contemporary primary sources, we hope to spark interest in further investigation of the topic. And as more research is conducted and material uncovered, we hope to be able to shed more light on Oil Springs of the past.