Ontario Abandoned Places will be rebranded as Ominous Abandoned Places

Tillsonburg Pioneer Graveyard

Closed Cemetery in Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada

Sep 30 2017

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Recent status Closed
Location # 15001

Only after 43 years this pioneer cemetery closed [ 1838-1881 , which is on the gate but the town website says this cemetery closed in 1870]. Members of the Tillson family are buried here in fenced plot. All pioneer cemeteries will have to be compared to this one. It has all names and dates on a cairn as you enter with a lettered map and information plaque, as well. Small stones around the headstones minimise growth. From hundreds of pioneer cemeteries I have visited this is the best or one of the best, in this province.

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3 years ago

A friend recommended I check your site out as I was in charge of Tillsonburg's Pioneer Graveyard restoration. Thank you for your kind words. It was done mostly by super volunteers scrubbing stones and fundraising, including the Tillsonburg Historical Society and the Town. We had the graveyard dowsed discovering there would have been about 1500 graves. We had about 120 pieces of tombstones but I found close to 400 names we believe were in the graveyard. It took about 5 years to complete physically and I am still researching the people. We formed the Tillsonburg Pioneer Performing Troupe as well and have costumed people becoming and telling the stories of our original founders and pioneers. The hardest part was trying to find out what the best way to save the tombstones no experts agreed. We decided most importantly was getting the information from the stones and standing them up again. The large black monument, was a big expense but now people can find who is in there and where to get more information. Thank you again for the kudos. Laurel A. Beechey

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6 years ago

Thanks Paul for noticing, You don't think I talk that way? lol. This is from the bottom of a headstone where they have a few nice words, and where I usually get the title from. Some are very bitter 'like in death's cold arms ' for example.

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6 years ago

I love your gallery title. How did you ever come up with "A Light In Yonder Skies"?