Then: British Methodist Episcopal Church

The British Methodist Episcopal Church is recognized as one of the most significant historical landmarks in Niagara Falls, with ties to Niagara Falls' Black community, and the Underground Railroad. The church is a National Heritage landmark site, and an important part of the history of the Underground Railroad to freedom, for those who escaped the bonds of slavery. It is one of the oldest Black churches in Canada.

The church was built in 1836 on what is now the bustling tourist thoroughfare of Fallsview Boulevard. In 1856, the building was laboriously moved on log rollers to the old Drummondville area of Niagara Falls. Its new location was on a plot of land on the corner of Peer and Grey Streets, donated by former slave and freedom seeker Oliver Pernell. Past members of the BME church congregation include local Black businessman and politician Burr Plato. Plato, himself a former slave, was the first Black Canadian to be elected to public office. He became a city councillor for the Village of Niagara Falls in 1886, and retained the position until his death in 1905.

The neighbourhood surrounding the BME church was known historically as "Pollytown". Some Niagara Falls citizens believe it was named after one of the local residents. Many members of the Niagara Falls Black community lived in the area. Burr Plato himself owned a stately home on Stanley Avenue, near the church, and many businesses in the vicinity were founded and patronized by Pollytown residents. As descendent of former slaves of the American south, several congregation members would eventually go on to become prominent members of the early Canadian civil rights movement around the turn of the twentieth century.

Now: R. Nathaniel Dett Chapel

The church building was renamed in 1983 after Nathaniel Dett, who was born in Niagara Falls in 1882. Dett was a world-renowned Black musician and composer who is credited with changing the image of Afrocentric music at the turn of the 20th century. Today, the R. Nathaniel Dett Chapel still serves its congregation, and retains a place of honour in the Niagara Falls black community as an early cultural, religious, and social centre.

Canada's Historic Places (Parks Canada). Nathaniel Dett Chapel. https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9778

Niagara Falls Museums. Burr Plato. https://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/discover-our-history/history-notes/burr-plato.

Niagara Falls Public Library. 2017. Niagara Falls - Then & Now: A Photographic Journey Through The Years. British Methodist Episcopal Church/ R. Nathaniel Dett Chapel.

Niagara Falls Then and Now
A collaborative project
Niagara Falls Museums - Niagara Falls Public Library - Dept. of Geography and Tourism Studies,Brock University.
Original newspaper series by Sherman Zavitz, Official Historian for the City of Niagara Falls from 1994 - 2019.

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