The Loyalist Provincials’ Burial Ground is located at the eastern end of Waterloo Row, near the site where the Loyalists landed in October 1783.
Heritage Value
The Loyalists arrived at St. Ann’s Point on October 8, 1783, unprepared for the realities of settlement. The winter of 1783-1784 was particularly harsh, and a number of settlers perished that first year. Interments were made in close proximity to the Loyalist encampment in what they would call the “Loyalist Provincials’ Burial Ground.”. This cemetery signifies the early Loyalist experience, representing their story of struggle and strife.
Without access to proper tools, these early settlers broke ground for burials using axes and shovels. Bodies were interred without benefit of religious ceremony, burials occasioned only by settlers’ prayers. The number of burials and the identity of these Loyalist settlers is not known, but the cemetery was reportedly used until it was “nearly full.” Burials continued beyond that first year, and this cemetery was probably abandoned when the burial ground located between Brunswick and George Streets opened. The first recorded interment in what is now known as “The Old Burial Ground” took place in 1787.
The Loyalist Provincials’ Burial Ground, because of its location on the Elmcroft property, was also known historically as “Elmcroft Cemetery.” Henry George Clopper Ketchum purchased Elmcroft in 1865, and his descendant, Sarah Ketchum, deeded the Loyalist cemetery to the Local Improvement Association in 1926.
In 1933, under the auspices of the Local Improvement Association, the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, and spearheaded by the York-Sunbury Historical Society, the overgrown burial ground was cleared in preparation for the installation of a monument. The York-Sunbury Historical Society secured additional land from the property owners for a public entrance to the cemetery. The monument was unveiled with a grand ceremony in August 1934.
In 1957, Fredericton City Council took measures to gain title to the Loyalist burial ground. In 1985, as part of Bicentennial Celebrations, the City of Fredericton unveiled an interpretive sign near the entrance of the Loyalist Provincials’ Burial Ground, recognizing the first cemetery in Fredericton and memorializing the early Loyalist settlers.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements associated with the Loyalist Provincials’ Burial Ground include:
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Its situation in the vicinity of the landing of the Loyalists
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Two small stones marking the final resting place of early settlers
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Fence enclosure
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Memorial cross, erected in 1934
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Stone steps at burial ground entrance
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Interpretive signage near burial ground entrance, installed in 1985
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Its association with the Loyalist experience and legacy