Old Burying Ground, Halifax

The Old Burying Ground, also known as Saint Paul's Church Cemetery, is Halifax’s earliest burial site, dating back to the city's founding in 1749. Originally a non-denominational cemetery, it served all Haligonians until 1793, when it became part of Saint Paul's Anglican Church. It remained active until 1844, after which burials moved to Camp Hill Cemetery. Neglected over time, it was restored in the 1980s by the Old Burying Ground Foundation and is now maintained to preserve its rare 18th-century grave markers.

Throughout its history, approximately 12,000 individuals were interred in the Old Burying Ground, though only around 1,200 headstones remain. Among its notable burials is British Major General Robert Ross, infamous for leading the 1814 Washington Raid and burning the White House before being killed in battle in Baltimore.

The cemetery quietly holds the history of Black Nova Scotians, with 167 recorded burials spanning various waves of Black migration to Halifax. These include early Black settlers, Black Loyalists, and Black Refugees from the War of 1812. Among them is Reverend William Furmage, a Huntingdonian Missionary who taught at Halifax’s first Black school.

The most prominent monument in the Old Burying Ground is the Welsford-Parker Monument, a triumphal arch built in 1860 to commemorate British victory in the Crimean War. It is the first public war monument in Nova Scotia, the fourth oldest in Canada, and the only Crimean War monument in North America.

In 1938, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts installed a granite monument in honor of Erasmus James Philipps, one of Nova Scotia’s earliest known settlers and the founder of Freemasonry in present-day Canada.

Recognizing its immense historical value, the Old Burying Ground was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1991. Today, this historic cemetery stands as a testament to Halifax’s earliest inhabitants and their diverse stories, preserved through continued restoration efforts and public engagement.