The Town of Truro’s decision to name a new park The Marsh Community Park, honoring African Nova Scotian women, has drawn criticism from a key project partner.
Naming Process Overview
In February, town council approved the name for the 5,380-square-foot site at the corner of Ford and Robie streets. The African Nova Scotian community strategy committee recommended it after Black residents in Truro and Colchester County voted from a shortlist of four options.
Committee chair Andrew Paris explained in a report to council: “I believe this name meaningfully reflects the history of the community, as this neighbourhood has long been known as the Marsh. The street and surrounding area were historically home to Black families who built a strong, close-knit community here. Over time, the neighbourhood has changed, but its history remains significant.”
Partner Group’s Concerns
The Nova Scotia Women’s History Society, which launched the park project in 2019, views the outcome as a rejection of its preferred name, Reparations Park. The group used that name at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May and expressed surprise when the town sought public suggestions via social media in December.
Society chair Anne Marie Lane Jonah and project lead Lynn Jones met with town officials in December to discuss communication issues. “We wanted to have openness, transparency and good communication,” Lane Jonah stated. “But after that meeting, we didn’t hear anything.”
The town collaborated with the Community Enhancement Association and Zion Baptist Church to review suggestions and form the shortlist: Corner of Knowledge, Reparations Park, Sisterhood Park, and The Marsh Community Park. Of 27 votes from the Black community, slightly more than half favored The Marsh, with about a quarter supporting Reparations Park.
Jones, a Truro native, questioned the vote’s promotion: “We didn’t even know, No. 1, that the vote was taking place. Nobody I know voted, hardly.”
Town’s Response and Park Features
Truro Mayor Cathy Hinton defended the process, noting it mirrored the renaming of the former Truro Amateur Athletic Club grounds to the No. 2 Construction Battalion Athletic Facility. “Whoever votes, votes. But the people have spoken and that’s the way it stands,” she said.
Hinton added: “Unfortunately, because of the controversy of this park, the name, it’s put a little bit of a cloud over it. However, I have had a lot of positivity coming from the name.”
The town invested around $100,000 in the project, including a new walkway. The society contributed about $75,000 for installations, art, and events. Highlights include a monument featuring organist Vera Clyke, who served Zion Baptist Church for 71 years, painted by Bruce Wood, and a dedication to educators Martha Eleanor Jones, Willena Beatrice (Corbin Gabriel) Jones, Donna Lee Byard Sealey, and Ann Michelle (Shelley) MacLean, illustrated by Letitia Fraser.
Lane Jonah indicated the society will continue calling it Reparations Park: “It’s a reminder of how hard those women worked to make change, and that I think people should feel inspired by them to keep going because we’re not there yet.”
