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Photo credit: Helen Cutts
When the Cataraqui Cemetery opened in 1850, it was one of only a few of its kind in Canada. A new trend had begun, drawing partly on the Victorians’ love of the outdoors and nature. The idea was two-fold: first, the cemetery was to be in a rural or garden-style setting; second, it was to be non-denominational. Up to that point, Kingston had only sectarian cemeteries—graveyards associated with particular religious denominations—but events on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean were beginning to have far-reaching consequences that were forcing Kingstonians to think differently about graveyards.
The Irish potato famine was leading to a mass exodus of the Irish on ships headed to ports in Canada and the US eastern seaboard. The 1840s also saw a surge in immigrants from Scotland and England. While many immigrants made the journey safely up the St. Lawrence River to Kingston, many arrived deathly ill. The crowded ships bringing Irish refugees became known as “coffin ships” because so many people had died on the voyage.
Photo credit: The Cataraqui Cemetery
Local churches were reluctant to offer up their graveyards to the diseased bodies, wanting to ensure enough room for their own people who were already dying from outbreaks of cholera and typhus. Many Irish were hastily buried in mass graves along the Kingston waterfront, but concerned citizens viewed this as a potential health risk. Some locals suggested that a new cemetery be created beyond the town limits. Ultimately, a large site in the small village of Cataraqui was chosen.
Photo credit: The Cataraqui Cemetery
On the Cataraqui Cemetery website, you can read about the non-denominational corporation that was established to design and operate the new cemetery. This not-for-profit corporation has now reached the ripe old age of 170 and understandably takes great pride in its ability to manage the cemetery, both as a National Historic Site and as an active cemetery with many acres of space for generations to come.
Photo credit: The Cataraqui Cemetery
On my spring stroll this month, I enjoyed the gentle hills, gullies and well-proportioned trees. If not for the gravestones, I would have thought I was in an arboretum or a botanical garden. Clearly, the vision of the original founders to create a park-like setting was achieved.
At the time when it was created in 1850, Kingston did not have any large public parks. Essentially, the Cataraqui cemetery was Kingston’s first public park. As a park, it drew locals who wanted to connect with nature, away from the town. If you are imagining someone sitting in a lotus position contemplating life in the middle of the cemetery, think again. If you are imagining a tranquil scene of women in long dresses, you are getting warmer but that wouldn’t be the full picture. Just because it was a cemetery doesn’t mean that visitors were quiet and respectful.
Photo credit: The Cataraqui Cemetery
What happened, in fact, was that the draw of a nature drew all kinds of people to the cemetery for a Sunday outing, not just those looking for a peaceful place to enjoy some solitude or a picnic. Kingston records show that it was sometimes a boisterous place at the turn of the twentieth century. People were racing their horses on the cemetery roads, swimming in the ponds and bringing their dogs. In response, the Cemetery Corporation had to create by-laws to prohibit these activities, which remain enforced today. The Corporation also had to deal with a new pastime adopted by some locals: shooting squirrels. At one time, the Kingston Police force even had to post a constable on weekends to maintain order. Today, the cemetery is once again a peaceful place.
Photo credit: The Cataraqui Cemetery
When I visited the cemetery, I entered through the stone gates on Sydenham Road, north of Crossfield Avenue. The alternative is to use the main entrance where you will see the plaque that designates the cemetery as a National Historic Site. You reach the gate via John Counter Boulevard, Purdy’s Court and Purdy’s Mill Road.
Helen Cutts, KAM Visitor in Residence, Writer
Explore our Museums, Art Galleries & Historic Sites
Kingston is Canada’s museum capital with something for everyone at over 26 museums and historic sites and 4 art galleries. It’s all here, from small specialized museums to national historic treasures including the endpoint of Canada’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site - The Rideau Canal and the Kingston Fortifications - designated in 2007.
