CA-K420History

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, Black leader on Vancouver Island

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, photographed by C. M. Bell around 1902. Mifflin Wistar Gibbs - CM Bell Studios 1902 · Charles Milton Bell · Photo source · Photo licence: Public domain. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.

Factual accuracy review: No recorded challenge

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Mifflin Wistar Gibbs helped lead about 800 Black residents from San Francisco to Vancouver Island in 1858 and became the recognized leader of their community. Elected to Victoria City Council, he was the first Black person to hold elected office in British Columbia; an entrepreneur in mining and trade, he advocated for Black settlers’ rights before returning to the United States in 1870.

Scope & context

Gibbs’s years in British Columbia as described in his designation.

Sources behind this record

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs National Historic Person ↗

Parks Canada (Directory of Federal Heritage Designations)

Importance; plaque text