The City of Saskatoon began its life as a Temperance Colony, and was first settled in 1883. The first recorded death occurred in 1884 when Robert Clark, who caught pneumonia while fighting a prairie fire, died. He was buried near the South Saskatchewan River. As the colony grew, this site became the colony's "unofficial" cemetery.



In 1888, a committee was formed to maintain the cemetery, and in 1889, "Nutana Cemetery" was officially recognized by the Provincial Government. In 1903, the Nutana Cemetery Company was formed, which took over the cemetery in 1905.



The City of Saskatoon took over the cemetery in 1910, after which the only burials that were allowed were those of people who already owned a plot, and members of the Nutana Cemetery Company and their relatives. The last burial took place in 1948.



While the Nutana Cemetery is in a beautiful, peaceful location overlooking the river, it has been subject to water erosion caused by the river. The hillside collapsed in 1904, 1969 and 1984, causing damage to many of the graves. Some had to be moved to other locations in the cemetery, or to Woodlawn Cemetery, which was established in 1906 on the west side of Saskatoon.



There were 162 known burials in the Nutana Cemetery between 1884 and 1948, however, only 144 of the graves have been positively identified due to inaccurate early records and grave markers that have disappeared. Of the 41 burials that are known to have taken place between 1889 and 1903, only 29 are registered in the cemetery records. Information regarding the remaining burials comes from resources such as the Saskatoon Phoenix.