Mount Pleasant Wesleyan Methodist Cemetery
Also known as: Roadhouse’s Cemetery
Also known as: Mount Wolfe Primitive Methodist Cemetery
Location:
16381 Mount Pleasant Road, Caledon, Peel Region, Ontario, Canada.
Concession 9, lot 22, Albion Township.
GPS:
Latitude: 43.95436°N
Longitude: -79.792819°W
History:
In 1826 the Toronto Circuit included the townships of Toronto, Chinguacousy, Trafalgar, Erin, Caledon, Albion, and Tecumseth. One of the stops mentioned in 1827 was Roadhouse’s.
The Roadhouse family came from Monk Fryston, Yorkshire and were some of the earliest settlers of Albion. They called their farm Mount Pleasant, and this is the name which appears on the cairn in the middle of the cemetery which reads “Mount Pleasant 1830”. This date could refer to a chapel or a cemetery. The obituary for William Roadhouse Jr states that “about 1830 a church was built near his home known as the Roadhouse appointment”. The year 1830 also noted the death of Sarah wife of William Sr and was probably the first burial in these grounds. It wasn’t until April 4, 1842, that the official deed was drawn up between William Roadhouse Sr and the trustees of the Wesleyan Methodist church and burying ground. The trustees were William Roadhouse Sr, John Roadhouse, James Robb, James McCabe and Joseph Roadhouse.
When Mt Wolfe post office was established in 1869 the first postmaster was John Wolfe Jr. In 1875 W C Roadhouse became postmaster with the post office continuing to be operated from the farm. Therefore, Mt Pleasant also became known as Mt. Wolfe. The Wesleyan Methodist records refer to it throughout as Roadhouse Chapel.
A letter in the Christian Guardian in 1858 states “there is one we would like to see converted into a school house and a commodious and respectable one (church) erected by its side worthy of the name the society bears – I mean, Roadhouse’s”.
The wish was granted as a plaque at the Peel Museum shows “Mount Pleasant 1865”. How long the church lasted is not known. The 1877 atlas shows a church but whether it survived the 1884 Methodist union is left for another researcher to discover.
Elaine Bertrand Robinson
Transcription purchase:
Transcriptions of this cemetery are available for digital download from the OGS website – click here to order via credit card.