The Dawn settlement was formed several years after the rebellion in 1841, with a 81 hectares (200 acres) property purchased as a refuge and a place of work for former slaves from the United States.[1] Henson also purchased an additional 81 hectares (200 acres) of land adjacent to the community, later selling 40 hectares (100 acres) of that property back to the Dawn settlement.[3] The settlement grew a number of crops, and cultivated eastern black walnut lumber to export to the United Kingdom and the United States.[2] In 1842, Henson helped co-found the British-American Institute in Dawn, providing its settlers with vocational education.[2][4] A sawmill was also erected within the settlement, whose products won Henson a medal at the Great Exhibition in London.[5] As a result of administrative problems, management of the settlement was assumed by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1849.[3]