The President of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society is concerned about vandalism targeting a historic Windsor park.
Irene Moore Davis says the sign at Mary E. Bibb Park in Sandwich was vandalized earlier this week, cleaned and restored by the City of Windsor, then vandalized again on Wednesday.
She says the repeated damage is especially troubling because of the historical importance tied to the park’s namesake.
Mary E. Bibb was a Black woman from the United States who was a teacher, an abolitionist, and a community organizer. She and her husband Henry moved to Sandwich in 1850, and together started Canada’s first sustained and successful black newspaper: The Voice of the Fugitive.
Moore Davis says previously the federal heritage plaque at the park was stolen, but there have been other historical markers vandalized in the city, such as the Mary Ann Shadd sculpture downtown.
Moore Davis says Bibb’s work went far beyond journalism.
“She established a school for Black kids who had no where else to study as they were arriving as refugees from slavery. She and her husband co-administered a really important organization called the Refugee Home Society which allowed formerly enslaved people to become homeowners and farm owners, property owners.”
She says the signs being vandalized were not the first incident in the park.
“It’s such a beautiful park. It’s so well placed. It’s right at the heart of the Sandwich Black History walking tour, and it’s very much at the heart of many of the historical sites in Sandwich. But previously there was the theft of the federal historic plaque that had to be replaced. I guess someone wanted to sell it for scrap metal or what have you.”
She says it’s unclear whether the latest incident was racially motivated.
“We’re conscious that there’s vandalism happening at all kinds of public spaces, and I don’t know whether it’s just an angry, disgruntled individual, or if it’s someone who is targeting particular stories, but it’s very disappointing.”
Moore Davis is asking community members to report any suspicious activity.
The City of Windsor Parks Department has once again removed the sign for cleaning and repairs.
The park, located on Sandwich Street between Brock Street and Mill Street, was named after Bibb in 2021.
A new Gateway Arch was just unveiled at the park in May 2025.
-with files from AM800’s The Kyle Horner Show