History: : Isaac VanNorman settled on Concession 3 Lot 4 SDS. His crown grant is dated 1810. In 1814, Isaac and Catherine’s daughter, Eliza, died at one year of age. There was no church, let alone a cemetery, for miles. So he chose a secluded hill near his home for the resting-place for his child — and Mount Vernon Cemetery came into being.

On 25 October 1837 one-half acre of this land was sold by Isaac VanNorman to William Moore, a farmer of Trafalgar, and James Teeple, Aaron D Emory, Jacob Cline, James Willson, John Lucas and Isaac VanNorman, all farmers of Nelson. They were Trustees of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada, chapel and burying grounds in Nelson.

The VanNorman Chapel, a frame structure stood on the west side of the cemetery serving the religious and social needs of the entire community of early Appleby. In 1847 a new brick church was erected on the southwest corner of the Middle Road (now the Queen Elizabeth Highway) and Appleby Line. About this time the Appleby Cemetery was established there also which was a more accessible location. Mount Vernon cemetery was taken over by the Appleby Cemetery Board and then by the City of Burlington in 1974. The last burial was Daniel Everett Hopkins in 1930. [by Jane Watt]