The oldest of the three, Founders Cemetery was established circa 1815 and is the final resting place of many of the area's earliest settlers. It is located on the east side of Highway 1, about six-tenths of a kilometre north of the village of Port Maitland. The first known burial here was that of Jonathan Raymond who was buried on April 11, 1819. After the nearby Free Will Baptist Cemetery opened in 1852, this cemetery continued in use for a further few years, then accepted no more burials. About 60 known burials have taken place in this cemetery.
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
Founders Cemetery
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
Founders Cemetery was established circa 1815 in the rural community of Beaver River, south of the Yarmouth / Digby County boundary. It is located on the east side of Highway No. 1, about six-tenths of a kilometre north of the Port Maitland village line. The municipal heritage designation applies to the entire cemetery property which runs between the highway and Beaver Lake.
HERITAGE VALUE
Founders Cemetery is the earliest community cemetery in the area. Its heritage value lies in its history as the burial site of a number of the area’s earliest settlers and in being one of three cemeteries recently restored by a local cemetery preservation organization, and the community support and awareness this work has brought about.
Founders Cemetery was established circa 1815, although the first known burial here was that of Jonathan Raymond who was buried on April 11, 1819. Many other early settlers were buried here, including Joseph Sollows, the first English settler in the neighbouring community of Port Maitland. Although there are many grave markers remaining here in various stages of preservation, some were removed over time as the cemetery was neglected. Others were broken or otherwise damaged.
In 1999, as the result of a letter written to the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth asking that this abandoned cemetery be cleared of brush and alders in preparation for a Corning family reunion, a public meeting was held in Port Maitland, and the Old Beaver River/Port Maitland Cemeteries Preservation Society was formed. The goal of the organization was, and continues to be, to restore the three abandoned cemeteries in the area - two in Beaver River and another nearby in Port Maitland. Under the initial leadership of the late Rev. Ulric Dawson, a few dedicated volunteers began work in the summer of 1999. To date, two of the three cemeteries, including this one, have been cleared, grave markers have been placed upright, damaged markers have been pieced together and laid on gravel in wooden frames and a complete inventory of all the markers has been compiled. It is now possible to mow this and one other of the three cemeteries, keeping them visible and attractively maintained. The work has returned the cemeteries to the community; prior to this work few residents were aware they existed. One of the most recent additions to this cemetery is the erection of a flagpole and signage to further enhance public awareness of the site.
In the 1970s and 1980s markers from old and/or abandoned burial grounds were often removed and using as door steps or patio stones. One marker, that of six month old baby Jesse Corning, was taken to Ontario where it was stored in a basement for forty years until 2005, when a guilty conscience finally compelled the person who took it to arrange to return it to its rightful place. Several badly deteriorated slate markers have had wooden “dog houses” placed over them to prevent further deterioration and many grave markers that had fallen over or been broken have been placed in new bases designed to prevent further damage.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- location on west side of Beaver Lake;
- proximity to the Yarmouth / Digby County boundary;
- historic grave markers;
- grass covered lot;
- plots arranged in rows;
- flagpole and “Founders Cemetery” sign.
From Historic Places Canada