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Design for the new Black Loyalist Heritage Centre |
The province is supporting the new Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Shelburne County. The Nova Scotia government has committed $750,000 to the Birchtown project through the Community Development Trust Fund. The Centre is expected to tell the story of the Black Loyalists, who relocated to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick after fighting for the British in the American Revolutionary War. Hundreds settled in Birchtown during the 1780s. The province also provides $250,000 annually in operational funding for the Centre. The federal government has also pledged roughly $2.6-million towards the new centre. African Nova Scotian Affairs Minister Percy Paris says the Black Loyalists are a fundamental part of the province's history and the new centre will help make sure their story is told for generations to come. Construction will begin in late May, with the centre expected to be open in July 2013.