Cemeteries

258 Lakeshore Road West

St. Jude’s currently has interment rights available for in-ground cremated remains (flat marker only) and have a limited number still available. Contact the cemetery staff for additional information.

St. Jude's Cemetery was established in 1853 when five acres of land were purchased on the shore of Lake Ontario about one mile west from present day downtown under the leadership of Reverend Robert Shanklin. A large rectory was built on the lake shore and a cemetery was established on the northern portion of the property. St. Jude's Anglican Church was then located on Colborne Street in the building that would later become the Bank of Montreal. The rectory was relocated to the corner of Dunn and William Streets in 1883 after Cannon John Bell Worrell got lost in a winter blizzard walking home after a Sunday evening service.

The southernmost two acres of the cemetery, including the old rectory (eventually named Holyrood by the owner Dr. William T. Stuart), was sold on May 30, 1887. Thirteen acres of cemetery land were added to the east, next to the original cemetery.

The Town of Oakville assumed the maintenance and sale of lots in St. Jude's Cemetery in 1979.

For more information

ServiceOakville
tel: 905-845-6601
TTY: 905-338-4200

Cemeteries direct fax: 905-338-4188

1149 Dundas Street West

Established in 1958, the Trafalgar Lawn Cemetery is on 30 acres of peaceful, forested green space overlooking Sixteen Mile Creek. A pond, beautiful flower beds and a wide variety of tree species — many specifically chosen for memorial trees — make the surroundings especially pleasant.

Trafalgar Lawn currently has interment rights available for Columbarium niche, in-ground Cremated remains (flat marker only) and scattering rights (Pond and Memorial Woods).

When Trafalgar Township amalgamated with Oakville, the operations of the cemetery were assumed by the Cemetery Board of the Corporation of the Town of Oakville. Today, the cemetery is operated and maintained by the Parks and Open Space department.

The gates at Trafalgar Lawn Cemetery are locked from sunset to sunrise.

For more information

ServiceOakville
tel: 905-845-6601
TTY: 905-338-4200

East of 16 West Street

Located on West Street south of Lakeshore Road, Bronte Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Oakville and the final resting place of some of Bronte's first African American settlers. Philip Sovereign, one of the earliest Oakville settlers, deeded the east corner of his farm for a cemetery, specifying it be for people of "all orders, sects, nations and parties." Sovereign died in 1833 at the age of 55. His son Charles farmed the land until his death in 1885, and both were buried in Bronte Cemetery.

Other early names that appear in the cemetery are Adams, Butler, Lucas, MacDonald, McWane, Osborne, Ribble, Triller and Williams. Almost a third of the headstones in Bronte Cemetery belong to children and many others to mariners.

The Lake Ontario gales that took the lives of Bronte mariners also claimed the bones of some of their families. Over the years, about 70 feet of cemetery land and 100 feet of road allowance have been subsumed by the lake.

Southwest corner of 2363 North Service Road

Located in a clearing ringed by mature trees between the QEW and the North Service Road east of Bronte Road, Merton/Mount Pleasant Cemetery was established in 1880 on the grounds of Mount Pleasant Church. The church and cemetery were built to serve the Methodist-Episcopal community of Merton, a hamlet that settled in 1812 and became the centre for harvesting the abundant supply of pine trees in the surrounding area.

Names that appear in the Merton/Mount Pleasant Cemetery include Luscombe, Joyce, Douglas, Speers, MacDonald, Patterson, Oakley and Carpenter. The earliest headstone is for Milo Secord who passed away in 1888 at only eight days old.

In 1927, Mount Pleasant Church was deconsecrated and offered for auction. Out of respect for the people interred, it was decided that the cemetery would not be sold and would remain undisturbed. The church was eventually demolished and its materials were carried away for use in other buildings. The only remaining trace of the church today is its date stone at the present day cemetery.

2579 Sixth Line

Munn's Cemetery is located on the southeast corner of Sixth Line and Dundas Street. It was established circa 1820 on land that was originally owned by Daniel Munn. A 1953 newspaper article about the cemetery cites Daniel Munn's headstone as being the oldest in the cemetery. Unfortunately the headstone has been lost or so badly eroded that the location of the grave is not known. It is believed that Daniel Munn lies in the vicinity of his wife Millicent, who is also buried in Munn's Cemetery.

The earliest settlers of Trafalgar Township built community schools and churches. Daniel Munn, who owned the land around Sixth Line and Dundas Street that eventually became the hamlet of Munn's Corners, built a log cabin school on his property which doubled as a church on Sundays. Around 1820, Daniel Munn responded to the need for a cemetery by selling a small plot of his land for a moderate price to a group of local yeomen who were responsible for the establishment of what we now know as Munn's Cemetery.

Many of Trafalgar Township's earliest families' names can been seen in Munn's Cemetery, including Appelbe, Snider, Featherstone, Post, Freeman, Coyne and Bowbeer.

During World War I it became increasingly difficult to find people willing to care for the cemetery. It was overgrown and neglected until the late 1950s when the local population recognized the cemetery's importance as a historical site and extensive restoration was undertaken.

Today, Munn's Cemetery is operated by the Town of Oakville.

South of 659 Lyons Lane

The land for Oakville/St. Mary's Cemetery was donated in 1858 by the first mayor of Oakville, George K. Chisholm. The land was surveyed by George C. Tremaine, whose Map of Halton County, Canada West appeared the same year. After clearing the trees, the land was surrounded by a white picket fence and a line of hitching posts was placed on Sixth Line. Pines that still exist in the cemetery today were planted along the road. A sale of lots was held at Town Hall and those purchased were marked with little white stakes bearing the names of the owners.

Chisholm suggested the old cemetery on Reynolds Street, north of Palmer Avenue, be moved to the new town cemetery to make way for a public school. The removal of remains from the old cemetery began immediately, though the task was not completed for more than 20 years. In 1881, the last 16 bodies were disinterred from the old cemetery and moved to the Oakville/St. Mary's Cemetery, creating considerable interest among the residents at the time.

The founder of Oakville, Colonel William Chisholm, and members of his family are buried in Oakville/St. Mary's Cemetery.

Burials in existing plots in Oakville/St. Mary's cemetery are still being carried out today, though no new plots are being sold.

Dundas Street and Bronte Road

Palermo Cemetery was operated for most of its existence by the Palermo United Church in the small village of Palermo, a stagecoach stop between Toronto and Hamilton.

In 1818, land owner Charles Teetzel sold the existing cemetery property to yeomen Duncan McQueen, James Hopperd and James McBride for "the sole and proper use of a place to bury the dead for them, and as many of the inhabitants of Trafalgar lying between the Twelve and Sixteen Mile Creeks as may think proper to join them; and, also for a Meeting House and a School House should the same at any time be required."

During the decades that Palermo Cemetery was operated by the church, the grounds needed constant restoration and upkeep. In 1926, cemetery caretaker John Hall was paid $75 a season. By 1976, remuneration for cemetery upkeep was $500. In 1945, a committee charged with the upkeep reported that they had to use sheep to keep the grass and weeds down, drawing several letters of complaint from families.

Familiar names that appear in Palermo Cemetery include Cudmore, Pell, Tovell, Inglehart, Fox, Sargant, Van Sickle, Hager, Dorland, Joyce, Gilbert and Secord.

The Town of Oakville assumed the operation and maintenance of the cemetery in 1990.

Between 143 and 147 Wedgewood Drive

Established in 1833, the historic Wedgewood (Cox Estate) Cemetery, located on the south side of Wedgewood Drive, is the resting place of early settlers of Trafalgar Township, including many children.

The absence of modern medicine in the 19th century caused a large number of children to die at an early age. Two of the three marked graves are those of the infant children of Samuel and Sophia Harris, probably related to John C. Harris, the owner of the property in 1823. Unmarked graves of other local children are believed to be located in this cemetery as well. In 1847 the current burial ground was recognized and preserved from future transactions.

In 1909, after a series of different owners, the property surrounding the burial ground was purchased by Herbert Coplin Cox, president and later chairman of the board of the Canada Life Assurance Company, for his lakeshore estate. The cemetery has since been known as the Wedgewood (Cox Estate) Pioneer Cemetery.