Richmond Hill Presbyterian Cemetery in Richmond Hill, Ontario

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Get directions 10066 Yonge Street
Richmond Hill, York Regional Municipality, Ontario Canada

Coordinates: 43.87284, -79.43799
Cemetery ID:

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The cemetery is located immediately behind Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church.

The oldest documented burial in this cemetery was that of Abner Miles, which took place in 1806, although local oral history states that an aboriginal Canadian was buried there in a traditional raised grave prior to that date. Abner Miles owned the land which was eventually occupied by the church and cemetery. His son James Miles gave the property to the church, but neglected to sign the deed, and the church elders purchased it from James's heirs in 1840.

Although the cemetery name suggests interments were limited to Presbyterians, this was the only cemetery in Richmond Hill and was used for all of the town's burials until a new cemetery opened over 170 years later.

The most unusual feature of this cemetery is the octagonal deadhouse or vault, built in 1863, which originally had a tin roof. It was used for the storage of bodies in the winter when interments were not possible. To avoid spread of disease, in February 1864 the Board of Trustees passed a regulation that the bodies of those who died of smallpox, scarlet fever and typhus would not be stored. The next year diphtheria and "other contagious diseases" were added to the list. The vault was restored in 1995 but has not been used for the storage of bodies for many years.

The cemetery is owned and managed by the Board of Trustees of Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church.