Old Burying Ground The Google rating is 4.5

Halifax’s Old Burying Ground is a quiet place of reflection and history in the heart of the city.

Established in 1749, this non-denominational burying ground is the final resting place of more than 10,000 people, from a broad cross-section of Nova Scotian society that includes early settlers, military leaders, Loyalists, African Nova Scotians, and Mi’kmaq.

There are 1,200 historical grave markers to explore, including hundreds of rare examples from the 18th century. These gravestones are detailed, adorned with works of art, carved with grinning skulls, soaring angels and heart-wrenching epitaphs that reveal changing attitudes towards death and tell the history of early Halifax.

Old Burying Ground facts:

• The oldest surviving gravestone is the 1752 marker for Malachi Salter, son of a local merchant.
• The last burial took place August 18, 1844.
• The best-known person buried here is likely British Major-General Robert Ross who is noted in history as having been the one to give the orders to burn the White House and U.S Capitol in the War of 1812.
• There is even a grave site where the gravestone names the murderer!

The Old Burying Ground is a National Historic Site as well as a Provincial and Municipal Heritage Property. It is owned by St Paul’s Anglican Church and maintained by the non-profit Old Burying Ground Foundation. Open June 1 – November 11. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

“I don’t know that a graveyard is a very good place to go to get cheered up, but it seems the only get-at-able place where there are trees, and trees I must have.”
Anne Shirley, describing the Old Burying Ground in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne Of The Island.