Runaway slave Joshua Glover will soon have a new park in south Etobicoke named after him.
Members of Etobicoke York Community Council on September 9 adopted a motion without amendment that would see a future park at 4208 Dundas St. W., named after the former slave who ended up living in the area and was welcomed by residents here.
The City’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation (PFR) Division had recommended the future park be named “Joshua Glover Park.”
The park is located of Ackley Heights, a new road which runs north from Dundas Street W., and is west of Prince Edward Drive N.
“The recommended name meets the policy criteria in the Council approved ‘City of Toronto Property Naming Policy,” according to a council document.
Rexdale-born and raised artist Quentin VerCetty last month won a city design competition to honour Glover in an above-waist statue that will grace the park.
Mayor John Tory announced VerCetty’s design of a striding, suit-wearing Glover, a cyborg-style arm with dangling shackles behind him will become a statue in the new Joshua Glover Park
Glover had a rough life and managed to escape from his Missouri slavemaster in 1852, finding work at a Wisconsin sawmill until he was recaptured. Slavery opponents broke into the jail and freed Glover who got to Upper Canada where slavery had been abolished.
He made it here through a network of guides who ran the so-called Underground Railroad in which escaping slaves as Glover travelled by night to escape slave catchers. He worked as a labourer for inn owner Thomas Montgomery and rented a house nearby.
Records don’t mention racism specifically against Glover but it was rife and systemic in Upper Canada. There’s no reason to think a former slave in a mixed marriage would be spared such hate, despite his employer’s regard for him.
The statue and park will be in the “Kingsway by the River” condo development near Royal York Rd. and Dundas Street W. Ironically, the condo’s marketing documents state “this is where modern living and natural beauty come together.”
Glover died at a Newmarket seniors’ home in 1888 at the age of 74.