Cataraqui Cemetery
The Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston holds the unique distinction of being the burial site of Canada's First Prime Minister.
Established at the beginning of the nineteenth century as a village burial ground, the Charter of the Cataraqui Cemetery Company was handed down on August 10, 1850, by the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
The cemetery was developed in a rural garden theme, after the pattern of Mount Auburn in Boston and Mount Hope in Rochester, New York. With winding roadways through rolling terrain, ponds and watercourses throughout the 100 acres of ground, it is truly a beautiful resting place.
The earliest list of lot holders is a veritable Who's Who of Kingston and includes:
- Sir John Alexander Macdonald, the Father of Confederation
- Thomas Kirkpatrick, First Mayor of the Town of Kingston
- John Counter, First Mayor of the City of Kingston
- Sir Alexander Campbell, a Father of Confederation and a former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
The Cataraqui Cemetery is one of Kingston's famed institutions, as much a part of its past as its forts, churches, jails and other historical features. Its importance has kept pace with the sturdy growth and development of Kingston.
The modern Sir John A. Macdonald Chapel, beside the Office, features a dramatic stained glass window, commissioned in 1891 in memory of Sir John. Installed in a tiny church at Redan, north of Brockville it was donated to the cemetery in 1980 when the Chapel was built
