The first known survey of this cemetery was done by Dr. Allan E. Marble on April 17, 1976. He did not name the cemetery but, per his usual custom, assigned it an identifying number, in this case 127, and a location, Waldeck East.

At a later date, Genweb volunteers transcribed Dr. Marble's original survey notes and made them available online. At that time, the volunteers gave this cemetery the name "Waldeck East Cemetery" and identified the community name as Waldeck East.

Two puzzlements come to mind about this cemetery.

First, there is a community named Waldeck East, but the "Waldeck East Cemetery" is located in Waldeck, an adjacent community. One would tend to think that the "Waldeck East Cemetery" would be in Waldeck East. What is the explanation for this?

One possibility is that the boundary between Waldeck and Waldeck East may have shifted sometime after the cemetery came into existence. In this scenario, the cemetery was once within the boundaries of Waldeck East, hence the name. If this occurred, it might have happened around 2000-2005 when the Civic Addressing project was underway in Nova Scotia. There were many instances of boundary adjustments at the time. This possibility is currently being investigated.

Another possibility arises out of the fact that the whole area along Waldeck Line Road was originally known by Waldeck Line or simply Waldeck. There were no communities of Waldeck East or Waldeck West at the time, just Waldeck. In Waldeck there is a second cemetery, properly known as "Cress Burial Ground", which locals have been known to call "Waldeck Cemetery". To distinguish the two cemeteries, the name "Waldeck East Cemetery" may have been chosen to indicate that it is situated east of "Cress Burial Ground" (aka "Waldeck Cemetery"). It may have been a name that depicted directional relationship not a community.

The second puzzlement will strike you as soon as you see the cemetery sign, which reads "Waldec East Cemetery". No, the missing "k" is not a typo. Much as there is an ongoing debate as to whether Margaretsville should be spelled Margaretville (with no "s"), likewise there is some community debate as to the correct spelling of Waldeck/Waldec. Officially, today the communities of Waldeck East, Waldeck and Waldeck West are spelled with the "k" ending. However, historically in some documents you will find it spelled Waldec, including the A. F. Church map for Annapolis County published around 1864. The cemetery sign used to read "Waldeck East Cemetery" not that long ago. However, the sign was fading and a decision was made to replace it with a new one. The new one now hangs proudly marking the "Waldec East Cemetery". The "k" perhaps buried.

Much gratitude is due Steve Skafte for his recent efforts to clear away heavy overgrowth and give the cemetery the respect it deserves.

DIRECTIONS: The cemetery is located on the west side of Mary Jane Riley Road, across from Civic #635. Park at the quarry gate and walk in. Climb up to the cemetery from the south side of the big hill. The stones are scattered through the trees and bush.