Sunday, November 29, 2015

Apto (St. Patrick's) Catholic Cemetery, Springwater











Apto (St. Patrick's) Roman Catholic Cemetery is located on the north side of Horseshoe Valley Rd. east of Hwy 26 (Bayfield Rd) in Springwater (formally Flo's Twsp).

The land that the cemetery is situated on was donated by Patrick McAvoy in 1855 and was deed to the Roman Catholic Church in 1856.  There are burials on this land that predate the deed, probably by the McAvoy family who had buried several family members starting in 1847.

Back in the mid 1800's, Apto was a stop over for those travelling between Barrie and Penetanguishene. 

The site supported a church building and rectory until 1904 when the buildings were sold for $ 2,400.00. and eventually demolished. The parish was relocated and a new cemetery was established in Midhurst. The old cemetery continued in use until 1908 when the last burial of Michael Kelly took place.

In 1998, what was left of the old head stones were gathering into a cairn. The cairn was positioned between three family monuments, Hayes, McMahon and Savage, which still stand in there original positions. 



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