Dundas' Forgotten Cemetery, Part One

by Stan Nowak
This article was first published November 7th, 2003 in the Dundas Star News. Reproduced with permission of the author.

Earlier this summer, a lady from Guelph, a former Dundas resident, called me regarding the fate of an old cemetery. She was concerned over what would happen to it when the Highway 6 and York Road interchange is eventually built. What old cemetery? The one in the abandoned field at the intersection of York and Old Guelph Roads. She gave me the details, and my wife and I went on a quest. From the description I was given, I expected to see an abandoned old graveyard with crooked and flattened headstones surrounded by overgrown bushes and shrubs—something worthy of a great ghost story.

We drove uphill on York Road till we hit Old Guelph Road. At that intersection, at the south-east corner, is an overgrown field. Starting right at that intersection, an old dirt road slices through the field like an angry scar. It runs parallel to York and then curves and disappears into the field. It looks like it has seen better days.

Hoping this wouldn't hurt my little Neon, I started into the property. Even at 10 km/h, it was still a really bumpy ride. As we got to the bend, we turned right and drove slightly uphill and further into the field. To our right sat the abdicated field, with the Sikh Temple clearly visible on Old Guelph Road. As we crested the hill, there was a clearing in the forest to our left, and there it was!

I felt slightly cheated; the rundown, ghostly graveyard I had envisioned is actually well-maintained and tidy. There is a central oblong memorial upon which are inlaid the original tombstones, some whole and some in pieces. The base is angled on the two long sides to allow for comfortable scrutiny of the historic markers. Obviously, the old graveyard has been cleaned up and all the fallen and broken headstones have been gathered and fixed into this concrete foundation. It runs parallel to the dirt road we were on, and sits in a clearing of less than ½ an acre. The little cemetery is sheltered by the canopy of the lush forest; I recognized lilacs and elms. We stepped out of the car and went to the monument to read some inscriptions. Most of the names said 'Hopkins'. The dates of death range from 1820 to the 1850s. Despite the obvious wear and tear, many of the inscriptions are still fairly legible. When we glanced beyond the memorial, we noticed that the property sloped radically toward the ravine. At the bottom of the hill stands another monument. It's an upright stone obelisk at the edge of the woods apparently in its original location. The predominant name on this one is 'Newman', and looks newer than any of the Hopkins' markers. The dates, ranging between 1874 and 1905, confirm this. So this old graveyard was a cemetery for the Hopkins and Newman families, on the outskirts of Dundas. The last burial was almost a century ago. Who were these people? Why were they buried here in this, all but forgotten, graveyard? What stories can the ghosts of this place tell? Last, but certainly not least, why should we care?

I took photos of the site, made some notes and observations, then drove back into town. I had some digging to do (no pun intended) and much to learn. What have I discovered? Read Part Two of "Dundas' Forgotten Cemetery" in next week's Star News to find out.

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