Eventide Cemetery
Also known as: House of Refuge Cemetery
Also known as: Peel County Manor
Location:
525 Main Street North, Brampton, Peel Region, Ontario, Canada.
Concession 1, Lot 9, Chinguacousy Township.
GPS:
Latitude: 43.6991°N
Longitude: -79.78210°W
History:
The cemetery which is referred to as Eventide Cemetery is locked, and found in a grove of trees behind what is now the Peel Manor Nursing Home.
This is the new building built on the site of the former Peel County House of Refuge. There are markers on every grave, with only the name of the deceased, year of birth and year of death.
J. Brian Gilchrist, April 2003
The ‘House of Industry and Refuge’ (demolished in 1955 and later replaced by Peel Manor) was established about 1898 to provide “more suitable accommodation for the destitute of our County than that now supplied in the County Jail.” Eventide Cemetery served the House of Refuge.
The November 1897 bylaw which called for the erection of a House of Refuge, also stipulated that “where neither relatives of the deceased nor the municipality where he belongs provide for burial, the caretaker shall procure a cheap coffin and have the remains decently placed therein.” The burials took place in a field near the house of refuge set apart for cemetery purposes.
Today, the cemetery is locked. It is enclosed by a tall wrought iron fence. An entry arch that reads Evertide Cemetery acts as the entryway to the Cemetery. It must be noted that the actual entry arch reads ‘EVERTIDE’; however, in all other instances this cemetery is referred to as ‘EVENTIDE’.
Of particular note are the rows of tall conifers that define the boundaries of the cemetery. Two rows of spruce trees also mark the roadway leading toward the Cemetery at the rear of Peel Manor.
Within are approximately 109 marked burials all embedded in the sod, arranged in seven uniform horizontal rows of flat grave stones with only the name of the deceased, year of birth and year of death. The first date of death shown on these markers is 1931 and the last 1966.
At the Peel Archives there is a record book recording deaths at the Home, which includes the place of burial. Unfortunately this record covers only the period from October 1930 to September 1951.
The first marked date of death is 1931. Unmarked burials may also be present. For example, the first ‘inmate’ to die at the House of Refuge (John Loudan) was in 1899.
JOHN LOUDAN DEAD The First Death at the County House of Refuge – a well-known character. About 35 years ago he came to Brampton with a number of other English emigrants, a painter by trade and for a time earned his living…too fond of grog…it got the better of him. Getting too old to work and having no relatives he was forced to seek charity. For a couple of years he spent the winter in gaol and as soon as the House of Refuge opened, he moved in. He died Sunday morning, aged 75. The by-law provides that where neither relatives of the deceased nor the municipality where he belongs provide for burial, the caretaker shall procure a cheap coffin and have the remains decently placed therein. This was done. Rev. Mr. Manning said the burial service at the grave. The remains were interred in the poor house farm, a field having been set apart for cemetery purposes. (The Brampton Conservator: May 9, 1899)
December 2016, Kathy Baker
Transcription purchase:
Transcriptions of this cemetery are available for digital download from the OGS website – click here to order via credit card.