The cemetery was established concurrently with the construction of the Free Will Baptist Church on the site. Though the earliest known burial here was that of an eight-month-old baby, in May 1840, it is believed that it was originally buried elsewhere and reinterred here when the cemetery opened. The final burial here took place in May of 1907, two years after the church was torn down. With sixty-five known burials here, about forty-five markers remain.
All three of these heritage cemeteries had become abandoned and overgrown, with many broken and toppled headstones. In 1999 the Old Beaver River/Port Maitland Cemeteries Preservation Society was formed to renovate the three cemeteries and install signage. The cemeteries were cleared of underbrush, broken headstones repaired, toppled ones stood firmly in place and identifying signage placed at each cemetery. Each cemetery has also received a
Municipality of Yarmouth Registered Heritage Property plaque.
The
Old Beaver River/Port Maitland Cemeteries Preservation Society website includes a
COMPLETE LIST of known residents of the three cemeteries, with links to all known information on each resident. The list consists of 131 names.
For decades the Founders Cemetery, the Free Will Baptist Cemetery, and the Calvinist Baptist Cemetery in Beaver River and Port Maitland, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada were objects of neglect. Most people driving by did not know these cemeteries, overgrown with alders and brush, were even there.
In 1999 the Old Beaver River/Port Maitland Cemeteries Preservation Society, under the leadership of the Rev. Ulric Dawson, was formed. The group is committed to the restoration and maintenance of the three cemeteries. The Founders and Free Will Baptist Cemeteries have been restored to the point they are capable of being mowed. Several grave markers have been placed upright. The Calvinist Baptist Cemetery now has a sign and flagpole, and clearing of brush has begun.
This website documents the Society’s efforts to restore and maintain the cemeteries, and also serves as a way people may access information about the Society and its activities, and how one may also access information about the residents in the three cemeteries. The cemeteries are registered heritage properties in the Province, and many of the residents have interesting stories still to tell, and the information here can provide much genealogical detail.
The Old Beaver River and Port Maitland Cemeteries Preservation Society has information about each historic cemetery and profiles online of all the residents in them. You may view information about each cemetery (see the list under Cemeteries in the black bar above) or a
list of each of the Residents which then links to a web page for each Resident or Removal and some information about them.
From Old Stones
Free Will Baptist Cemetery
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Free Will Baptist Cemetery was established circa 1852 in the rural community of Beaver River, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia when the church of that name was built on the site. It is located on Highway 1 about eight tenths of a kilometre north of Port Maitland. Municipal heritage designation applies to the entire cemetery lot and grave markers.
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HERITAGE VALUE
The Free Will Baptist Cemetery is valued as the burial site of many late nineteenth century residents of the area, for its remaining grave markers and as being one of three abandoned cemeteries in the area which in recent years have been restored by a volunteer cemeteries preservation organization.
The Free Will Baptist Cemetery was established circa 1852 when the Free Will Baptist Church that stood on this lot was constructed. The earliest known burial was for an eight-month-old baby in May 1840, however it is surmised that he was originally interred elsewhere and his remains moved here after the Free Will Baptist Church was built. The last known burial took place in May 1907; two years after the church was torn down. There were sixty-five known burials here, and about forty-five markers remaining. It is known that a number of the remains and gravestones were removed at some point to the larger, currently in-use community cemetery. Removals from one cemetery to another were apparently a relatively common occurrence until more recent years.
This is the first abandoned cemetery in the area to benefit from the efforts of the Old Beaver River/Port Maitland Cemeteries Preservation Society, which was formed in 1999 as the direct result of a letter written to the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth office requesting that the Municipality clear the dense overgrowth here and in a neighbouring cemetery for a family reunion. It was decided by the Society to “adopt” all three of the area’s abandoned cemeteries and to clear and maintain them and return as many headstones as possible to an upright position. This was the most densely overgrown cemetery of the three and took the longest to return to a state where it could be mowed on a regular basis to keep it visible. The old church’s cellar was filled in, the footprint of the building outlined with stones and a sign erected identifying the former site of the church. A flagpole and sign have also been erected to identify the cemetery and keep it in the public’s awareness.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- location on west side of Beaver Lake;
- proximity to another registered heritage cemetery;
- all grave markers;
- uneven ground;
- historical ties to present day community residents;
- footprint of site of former church outlined in stones;
- flagpole and sign identifying cemetery.
From Historic Places Canada