A Victorian Garden Cemetery

Established in 1869, Aurora Cemetery is a perfect example of a period Victorian Garden Cemetery. It is 27 acres of rolling hills and winding roads in which time stands still.

The First Cemetery of Summer

I just pointed the car in a westerly direction and drove. Found this little gem in Essa Twp. The Egbert Pioneer Cemetery was established in 1887 on land donated by Henry Morris who was the first Reeve of Essa Twp. His grandson James was the first burial after he drowned in the Nottawasaga River. 

A church once stood on the west side of the property and lasted until the unification in 1925 becoming part of the United Church of Canada. By the 1930's the congregation has started to dwindle and the church was closed and finally removed in the 1950's. The cemetery is a heritage landscape and is maintained by Essa Twp. 

Digging Up The Dead

What happened to Prospect Hill Cemetery, aka God's Acre???? The truly forgotten, until 1989, then the crap hit the fan. 

SURPRISE!!!! You've just bought a 19th century cemetery.  This lovely acre of land comes with 91 articulated supine burials. That's right folks, complete in their coffins. You can't get a better deal than that. 

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What's Inside this Burial Vault. (Maple Cemetery)

This Gothic revival structure was built in 1882 from field stone harvested from the nearby fields that once surrounded the cemetery. But alas, they are no longer, replaced by condos, Walmart Stores and subdivisions. The "Vault" as it is more commonly known was built to temporarily house the dead, especially during the winter months when the ground was too frozen to dig the graves.

A receiving or holding vault should not be confused with a mausoleum, it was a temporary solution and came with a monthly storage fee which was in addition to the cost of the grave. Oh and just so you know if you died from any infectious deceases you could not be stored in the "vault". Things were different then. Even the undertakers got a bad wrap.

Today the "vault" is used for the storage of materials use in the care and maintenance of the cemetery. There are no rotting coffins or moldy crypts inside. That's right people, no dead bodies, so stop trying to break into it. Nothing to see here folks. It's just a monument to the past.

Leigh Corners Cemetery - East Oro

Leigh Corners is located in Oro-Medonte, more specifically, East Oro. The cemetery was established in 1840 when John Leigh donated a piece of his land for an Anglican Church and burial ground. The church would be eventually built down the road at Simpson's Corners, so John Leigh reserved the west side of the cemetery for his family plot.

A school was established on the site in 1853. To day it is still standing but is now a private home. For many years people would wonder how a school ended up in the middle of a cemetery. As the congregational cemetery is located on the south side of the school. The cemetery is closed and is a designated heritage site.

Inside a Dead House - King City Cemetery

The octagonal dead house is peculiar to Southern Ontario, essentially used as receiving or mortuary crypts to hold the dead during the cold winter months.  It is believed that only seven exist with a possible eighth somewhere in the Niagara Region. Today they are mainly used to store equipment not the dead. 

This video takes you inside one along with a bit of history with some of the artifacts still used by the cemetery care taker to this day.  

Rugby Congregational Cemetery - Oro Medonte

Located on Old Barrie Rd near 12th Line or Conc. 12, Lot 11 is the little cemetery known as Rugby Congregational Cemetery.  There is no cairn or plaque located here, just a small patch next to an old building, east of the Rugby Community Hall.  

The cemetery probably saw it's first burial in 1831 when little Mary Brown aged 4 years, 11 months died on September 15th, 1831.  This was followed by William Brown in 1834 at the age of 44 years. 

The congregation was not formed until 1847 by Rev. Ari Raymond, who built the church that once stood here and established the cemetery. The land was more than likely owned by the Brown family and used as a family burial plot until the congregation was established.

The congregation survived until the Methodist and Congregational church union in 1925 (United Church of Canada), then it moved to Hawkstone.  Sometime after that the church building was demolished, leaving the cemetery to mark the spot.  The last burial appears to have taken place in the early 1930's. 

The cemetery is closed and receives minimal maintenance.