UHP History
UHP was settled in the early 1800’s and has a rich history dating back more than 200 years. Freedom fighters and Black Refugees from the War of 1812 first settled Upper Hammonds Plains in 1815. Over the years, the community faced many hardships involving systemic and overt racism, illnesses (TB), land expropriation, and exclusion from services such as paved roads, clean water, and internet connectivity. Today, the community is facing a significant amount of development that is threatening the preservation of its cultural heritage, displacing African Nova Scotians from their ancestral homesteads, and creating an unaffordable or otherwise unsuitable housing market for community members.
Born out of the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Development Association’s Strategic Initiatives Committee, the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust (UHPCLT) is seeking to provide affordable rental and homeownership opportunities, protect land parcels through its holdings, bring land parcels into economic use, reduce Government burden, and develop community design that reflects and illustrates the rich history of Upper Hammonds Plains. UHPCLT is endeavouring to build economic prosperity for the community of Upper Hammonds Plains – now and into the future.