Cataraqui Cemetery
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| Cataraqui Cemetery | |
 Cataraqui Cemetery. |
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| Cemetery Details | |
|---|---|
| Year established: | 1850 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Location: | Kingston, Ontario |
| Size: | 100 acres |
The Cataraqui Cemetery, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, is the city's largest, and holds the distinction of being the burial site of Canada's first prime minister and a Father of Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald.
Established at the beginning of the nineteenth century as a village burial ground, the Charter of the Cataraqui Cemetery Company was handed down on 10 August 1850, by the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
The cemetery was developed in a rural garden theme, after the pattern of Mount Auburn in Boston and Mount Hope in Rochester, New York. With roadways winding through rolling wooded terrain, ponds and watercourses, this 100-acre (400,000 m²) area is truly a beautiful resting place.
The modern Sir John A. Macdonald Chapel, located beside the office, features a dramatic stained glass window commissioned in 1891 in memory of the man. Installed in a tiny church at Redan, north of Brockville, it was donated to the cemetery in 1980 when the chapel was built.
Other historically notable occupants include:
- Thomas Kirkpatrick, First Mayor of the Town of Kingston
- John Counter, First Mayor of the City of Kingston
- Sir Alexander Campbell, a Father of Confederation and a former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
