Cemeteries of Yonge Street

From OHS Bulletin -Issue 103 -May-June 1996

Yonge Street and Penetanguishene Road Cemeteries

Prepared by Majorie Stuart from material provided by Josephine Boos and Stella Gianetto of the
Simcoe County branch, Ontario Genealogical Society and Ross Wallace of Innisfil Historical
Society.

   We continue to celebrate 200 Years Yonge, and remember those who lived, worked and
died along the route begun in 1796 to connect the Town of York with the Naval Establish-
ment at Penetanguishene. As we head north through West Gwillimbury Township, Mount
Pleasant Cemetery is the first cemetery on this part of the road. It is located about two miles
north of Bradford on land that was purchased in l 869 for a Wesleyan Methodist Church.

   St. Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery and St. John's Presbyterian Cemetery are both 
located at the 11th Concession and Yonge Street at Coulson's Hill. Dating from 1855 and 
1858 respectively, both cemeteries were once a part of the farm of John Coulson .

   In July 1850, James Tindal donated the land for a Wesleyan Methodist Church and cemetery
to be located at Deerhurst. Ebenezer United Church Cemetery remains to mark the site at
Concession 12 and Yonge Street.

   Zion Cemetery, now located in Innisfil Township on the east side of Yonge Street, dates from
1868, when land for Zion Primitive Methodist Church and Cemetery was bought from one of the
Church trustees, John Wood, for œ1. The church burned about 1920 and the well maintained
cemetery is now under the care of Gilford United Church. 

   St. Clements Cemetery which is also known as Cherry Creek Cemetery or Second Line
Cemetery is possibly the oldest known burial location in Innisfil township. It is located on land
donated in 1837 by Lewis J. Clement UE on Concession Line 2, a little to the east of
Yonge Street.

   In 1846, Colonel George Duggan gave two acres to the Diocese of Toronto for St.
Peter's Anglican Church and Cemetery at Churchill. T first burial was that of George
Mcl.elland in l 849. There is unmarked section at the southern boundary of the cemetery
where many children who died of diphtheria are buried.
 
   Sixth Line Cemetery located two miles further along the Highway, at the southwest
corner of  the Sixth Line, Established in 1844 as Presbyterian cemetery, it is the:
burial location of many of the Dalhousie Settlers. A memorial  cairn in their honour was
erected in 1932. Andrew F Hunter, the author of The History of Simcoe County is
also buried there.

   St. James United Church Cemetery at Stroud, once known as Victoria, was estab
lished in 185 l when Peter Lawrence reserved three quarters of an acre for a burial
ground for the Wesleyan. Methodist Church. There are many monuments to pioneers of
the community, among them soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars, the War or 1812, the U.S.
Civil War and more recently, World Wars I and II. Of particular significance to 200 Years
Yonge is the burial site of George Warnica. George and his brother John secured the
contract for the construction of an 11 mile stretch of Yonge Street from Churchill to
Kempenfeldt Bay in 1825. They were paid $55.00 or $5.00  per mile!

   St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery, located at Concession Line 12, was established in
1845 by John Pratt who donated the property. Squire Benjamin Ross is buried here. He was the
Postmaster for Innisfil Township for many years. Each Sunday he placed the mail in
his top hat and passed it to the . parishioners.

   Travelling along the Penetanguishene Road, we reach Crown Hill, now a part of 
northern Barrie A Wesleyan Methodist Church purchased land in 1844 from John and
Clarissa Lawrence. The chapel was never built but Lawrence Cemetery remains. Premier E.
C. Drury, who helped to found The United Farmers of Ontario, came from Crown Hill.

Continuing  along we come to St. James Anglican Cemetery before reaching Highway 400. Here
Yonge Street and the Penetanguishene Road (Highway 93) part company. Space will allow only a
quick look at the cemeteries along the latter road, though deserving of much more than a
brief mention. At Dalton, in the Dalton United Church Cemetery, a plaque was erected
to the memory of Peter White, one of the earliest settlers. 

   St. John's Anglican Church Cemetery is located at Craighurst in Oro Township.
Craighurst Presbyterian Cemetery and Hillsdale Presbyterian Cemetery are in Medonte Town-
ship and Hillsdale Methodist, now United, Cemetery is located in Flos Township. Also
located in Flos Township are Waverley Methodist and Waverley Gospel Hall cemeteries.
Good Shepherd Anglican Cemetery and Wyebridge Cemetery arc located in Wyebridge.

   St. James-on-the-Lines Anglican Church in Penetanguishene was established in 1818 to 
serve  the naval and military base as well as the commmity which grew up close to it. The ceme-
tery is believed to have been established in the mid 1820s    ' The Old Barrie Road" led
east from Dalton to Orillia and  was one of the routes travelled by the early settlers of the area.
We will explore more fully that route and "The Ridge Road", commonly known as "Shanty
Bay Road", in the next issue of the OHS Bulletin.

From OHS Bulletin -Issue 10 -July -August 1996

Cemeteries in Simcoe County

Prepared by Majorie Stuart from material provided by Josephine Boos and Mary Garbutt of the
Simcoe County branch, Ontario Genealogical Society

  The fourth installment in our series highlights the cemeteries along Yonge Street north from
Barrie, along three routes. Settlers used the "Old Barrie Road" or "The Upper Crossroad"
to travel east from Dalston to Orillia. "The Ridge Road" also known as "The Shanty Bay
Road" was another early route. The present Highway 11 or Yonge Street is a later route.


Old Barrie Road or The Upper Crossroad
   The land for Bethesda Congregational Cemetery at County Road 57 was donated in
l 856 by Rev. Ari Raymond, who had been sent by a Congregational Church in Boston
as a missionary to the Black Settlement in Oro Township in 1838. This cemetery continued to
serve the white settlers when the Black community established the African Episcopal Methodist
Church and Cemetery on the opposite corner in 1849. Oro Township maintains the old log
church and grass covered unmarked graves. A cairn was erected in 1947 to commemorate
the families who worshipped and were buried there.

   Edgar United Church Cemetery, (Formerly Methodist),
is located on the south side of the road and was established about 1898.   Two stones on the north
side of the road remain to mark the site of a Baptist Church and Cemetery. The stones, dating
from 1875, mark the burial of the wife of David Thompson, Elizabeth Ann Tuck and her chil-
dren.

   The old and new Knox Presbyterian Cemeteries are at the junction of the 9th Concession Line.
The tract for the church and cemetery was set aside by the first settlers, mostly  built in 1845 and
closed in 1900.  All services were held in Gaelic.

   Esson Presbyterian Church and Cemetery are located at Rugby. The Scottish congrega-
tion was formed from a group that broke from Knox Presbyterian Church.    

Rugby Congregational Cemetery is on the south side of the road. The church, established
about 1847, joined the Methodist Church in 1923 and the United Church in l925. The cemetery
was closed to further burials in 1936 and the church was demolished in 1949.

The Ridge Road or The Shanty Bay Road
   St. Thomas Anglican Church Cemetery is located at Shanty Bay on land set aside by
Col. Edward O'Brien, founder of Shanty Bay and Land Agent for the Black Veterans of the War
of: 1812 and the mostly Islay Scots and a few Irish irnmigrants who arrived in 1832. The shanties
erected as temporary housing gave the community its name. The church was established in
l838 and the cemetery continues to serve the community at large.

   Oro Station United Church Cemetery is located on the north side of the road. The church, built
in 1865 as Primitive Methodist, became Methodist in 1884 and United in 1925. It was closed in
1968 and the cemetery, established in 1882, is still in use.

Highway 11
   Guthrie Presbyterian Church and Cemetey are on the north side of the highway. The first bur-
ial took place in 1861 and the church was constructed in 1862.  The Scots who formed the church
first worshipped in homes or at Knox Presbyterian Church on the Old Barrie Road. Burials prior
to 1861 were often in farnily plots on farms or at Knox.

   The joint cemeteries of St. Andrew's  and St. Jarnes are located at the Coldwater Road.
established at its location by 1873. Jacob Gill who built the mill at Coldwater for the First
Nations is buried in St. James.  This mill was in operation until 1995. The Tudhope family is
buried in St. Andrews. The Tudhopes were carriage makers in Orillia and later joined the
McLaughlins to make early motor cars.

   Close by on the "old" Highway 12 is St. Michael's Cemetery where many Irish set-
tlers are buried.

   The last cemetery in Simcoe County is the well maintained Ardtrea United Church Ceme-
tery. Pioneers of North Orillia Township are buried here.

Muskoka District
   The rock-cut on Highway l l at the Severn Bridge is the "gateway" to Muskoka. Bethel
Cemetery, the first cemetery, is located three miles north beside the Muskoka Tourism Inform-
ation Centre. The stone cairn was erected in 1936 in memory of the pioneers of Morrison
Township.
Moses Martin deeded the land for a cemetery and Methodist Church in 1865. Prominent in the
logging industry, ancestors of the infamous Elonzo Boyd are buried here.

   Symington Cemetery, still maintained by descendants of the family for whom a half acre was
sct aside in 1862, is located on West Grant Road at Kilworthy Road    Highway  l1 leaves the
original Muskoka Road at Gravenhurst.

   Reay Cemetery or Muskoka North Cemetery is located on the "new highway" at the
Muskoka Airport Road. The land was sold by the Crown to Muskoka Township in 1878, and
is now administered by the Town of Gravenhurst.

   Travelling through Gravenhurst on the original Muskoka Road, we come to St. James
Cemetery at Violet Street. An Anglican Church was built in l867, and the present church was
built in 1882 on Hotchkiss Street.

   Mickle Cemetery was named after Charles Mickle, who, in partnership with Nathaniel
Dyment, was one of Gravenhurst's 14 mill owners.

   Muskoka Falls Cemetery, originally entered from Muskoka Road, is on land bequeathed by
William Irvine for a Presbyterian cemetery. St. Thomas Anglican Cemetery is located in
Bracebridge and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery is further along the Muskoka Road.

St. George's Anglican Church Cemetery is at Falkenburg, where the Muskoka Road heads
north.    The badly vandalized McNichol or Cairns Cemetery, located at Allansville, is the site
of Cairns Presbyterian Church built in 1866 which was named after an early minister. The
McNichol family was associated with the church for many years. The cemetery is administered by
the Town of Huntsville.

   Madill Church and Cemetery are located just south of Huntsville. The Wesleyan Methodist
Church was built in 1873 and has been recognized with a Provincial Plaque as one of the few
square-timber churches remaining in Ontario. Many of the early settlers are buried here including
Captain George Hunt for whom the town is named.

   In Huntsville, four old cemeteries are associated with religious denominations. Hutcheson
Memorial Cemetery, on the old Ferguson Highway (now Road #3), was opened in 1936 on land
donated to the municipality by the prominent Hutcheson family for a non-denominational
cemetery.


       Parry Sound District
   Much of the original Muskoka Road heading north is now unused and overgtown. The
  village of Novar was surveyed in 1885 when the railroad was built  and was located a mile west
of   Muskoka Road where Presbyterian and Methodist cemeteries are located.
   
A six acre cemetery known as Union Cemetery is located-at the junction of Highway 518. It
was associated with Emmanuel Methodist Church. When Emsdale was relocated from
Muskoka Road to its present site "on the railroad", the Church was built in the new village. The
earliest burial is Robert Pilch who died in 1876. The cemetery board is currently repairing and
restoring many of the monuments. 

  A new mortuary can be seen in the Burk's Falls Cemetery on the old road to Katrine when
looking west from Highway 11 and the Burk's Falls Road. Until l942. when the United Church
transferred the cemetery to the municipality, each of the Protestant churches had its own
section.

   Gravel Pit Cemetery, located north of South River in Laurier Township, was thus
named because it was a gravel pit! The cemetery and non-denominational church were
established in 1950.

Nipissing District

   Boxwell Union Cemetery is located in Chisholm Township a few miles to the east of
Powassan. The earliest burial recorded on a tombstone is for a child named Esther E. Boxwell
who died in 1890.    Located about 15 miles east of Powassan is St. Louis de France
Roman Catholic Cemetery. The earliest burial recorded on a tombstone is Paul Chafer who
died in 1900. Earlier burials might be possible as many tombstones are illegible.

   Union Community Cemetery, located on Mountain Road in Callander, is owned jointly by
the Township of North Himsworth and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Algoma.
Three churches torm the committee: St. Alponse Roman Catholic Church, St. Peter's
Anglican and Knox United Church, all of Callander.    Terrace Lawn Cemetery,
now closed to burials, is located at O'Bricn Street and Ski Club Road in North Bay. New burials
are at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Tower Drive.    St. Mary's Roman Catholic
Cemetery is located on Golf Course Road in North Bay on property purchased in 1886 by
Father Joseph Bloem. It derives name from the first English Catholic Church in North Bay,
St. Mary's on the Lake.    Church registers indicate the first Anglican funeral in North
Bay was for Richard Bray who died May 6, I884. It is not known if he was the first buried in St.
John's Anglican Church Cemetery as there is no tombstone bearing his name. St. John's was one
of the earliest North Bay churches.

   Union Cemetery, operated by a group of Protestant churches, is the most easterly of
the three cemeteries on Golf Course Road, and is within the North Bay boundary.

   The Graveyard is located in the village of Temagami in Strathroy Township. It is the
most northerly of the known cemeteries within Nipissing District, and, seemingly, has
never had an official name. Local residents refer to it as "the Graveyard". This Roman
Catholic cemetery was first used in the late 1800s when no roads led into the community. Only
on tombstone remains. All other graves were marked by white crosses with names and
dates carved on them. They have long since disappeared along with their records. Many burials
were of children who died in diphtheria epidemics in 1909 and 1912. The last known burial
was in 1952.

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