Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery
Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 305 Erskine Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History
Mount Hope was created near the end of the 19th Century when the Archdiocese of Toronto was faced with a capacity issue at St. Michael's Cemetery (Toronto). A chapel like structure at the entrance serves as an office.
Land was found further north of Toronto and Mount Hope was consecrated on July 9, 1898 by Roman Catholic Archbishop John Walsh.[1] The first burial occurred on March 27, 1900.[2] By the end of the 20th Century, the cemetery was full, holding the remains of more than 76,000 persons. However, the cemetery plans to convert several roads for use as graves and to build a columbarium for those cremated.[1]
The cemetery contains the graves of 147 Commonwealth service personnel from both World Wars, registered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.[3]
For the cemetery's centennial, the Catholic Cemeteries Archdiocese of Toronto published "A History of Mount Hope Cemetery Toronto Ontario 1898 to 1998" written by Michael Power.
Within 50 years Mount Hope was facing a capacity issue and in 1954 Holy Cross Cemetery, Thornhill, Ontario opened to ease the burden on Mount Hope. With additional landed added next to the property, Burke Brook Ravine was buried as storm sewer in 1960 (the ravine exists northeast of the cemetery through Sunnydene Park).[4]
Existing roads are being closed to free up land and columbarium being added for cremated remains will allow Mount Hope to continue to be Catholic burial site.[4]
Notable burials
Some of the notables interred here are:
- Margaret Anglin (1876-1958), stage actress
- Timothy Warren Anglin, newspaper editor, politician
- Morley Callaghan (1903-1990), writer
- Francis "King" Clancy (1903-1986), Hall of Fame ice hockey player and coach
- Cal Gardner (1924-2001), NHL ice hockey player
- Arthur W. Holmes (1865-1944), architect
- The Honourable Claude J. Morrison, Q.C. (1920-1999), Ontario Provincial Criminal Court Judge
- Louis Quilico (1925-2000), opera baritone
- Reginald "Hooley" Smith (1903-1963) Hall of Fame ice hockey player
- Frederick Albert Tilston (1906-1992), Victoria Cross recipient
- Jean Wilson (1910-1933), Olympic speed-skating gold medalist
- William R. Allen (1919-1985), 2nd Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto, namesake of the Allen Expressway
- Denis T. O'Connor (1841-1911) Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto
- Frank Tunney (1912-1983), wrestling promoter
- Annie Thompson (1845-1913), wife of former Prime Minister John Thompson
- Lonnie Johnson (1899-1970) New Orleans born blues and jazz guitarist and singer
- Vern B. Moore (1922-2006) Catholic layman and activist.
Coordinates: 43°42′55″N 79°22′58″W / 43.715172°N 79.382658°W
See also
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese has a number of other cemeteries besides Mount Hope in the Greater Toronto Area including:
- St. Paul’s Church Cemetery, Toronto - opened 1822
- St. Michael’s Cemetery, Toronto - opened 1855
- Holy Cross Cemetery, Thornhill, Ontario, Markham/Thornhill - opened 1954
- Resurrection Cemetery, Whitby - opened 1964
- Assumption Cemetery, Mississauga - opened 1968
- Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Woodbridge - opened 1985
- Christ the King Cemetery, Markham - opened 2004
There are a number of smaller Catholic cemeteries as well:
- Mount Peace Cemetery, Mississauga
- St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Streetsville
- St. Mary’s Cemetery, Brampton
- St. Mary’s Cemetery, Port Credit
- St. Luke’s Cemetery, Thornhill
- St. Michael’s Cemetery, Toronto
- St. Francis De Sales Cemetery, Ajax
- St. Wilfred’s Cemetery, Ajax
- St. Gregory’s Cemetery, Oshawa
- St. John the Evangelist Cemetery, Whitby
- St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Scarborough
- Our Lady of Victory Cemetery, Scarborough
- Queen of Clergy Cemetery, Scarborough
- St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Markham
Other non-cemeteries locations that have burial sites include:
References
- 1 2 Mount Hope Cemetery Historical Plaque. Torontohistory.org. Retrieved on 2013-09-07.
- ↑ Mount Hope Cemetery – Catholic Cemeteries – Archdiocese of Toronto. Catholic-cemeteries.com. Retrieved on 2013-09-07.
- ↑ CWGC Cemetery report.
- 1 2 Mount Hope Cemetery. Lostrivers.ca. Retrieved on 2013-09-07.