PHOTO: Hawley South Beech Cemetery (Clarenceville)

Exhibition May 30th to October 10th, 2010

There is a growing concern in Quebec for our vast and varied religious heritage. Regardless of language or denomination, our cities, towns and countryside are populated by empty, or seasonal, or much diminished churches, many of which have old cemeteries attached to them. There are also many rural cemeteries that never had a church nearby or that have lost their church building with the passage of time.

In Missisquoi County, our heritage or abandoned graveyards are unfortunately slowly crumbling and disappearing from our communities. The cemeteries hold the remains of some of the earliest settlers in Missisquoi County who cleared the land and farmed it, worked in the mills and built roads, and who made it possible for us to live and work here and enjoy this beautiful region.

The Missisquoi Historical Society has been protecting and championing heritage abandoned graveyards for close to 45 years. In that time 18 abandoned sites have come under the society's care and 75 have been identified and documented. The majority of these sites no longer have a family or a community to oversee their protection.

This exhibit brings to the visitor's attention the plight of these abandoned graveyards and the looming crisis that municipalities, heritage groups and families face with the loss of these sacred sites in our communities.

The Cornell Mill Site, Walbridge Site and Hodges's Genera Store site will be open seven days per week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. All sites and picnic grounds are included in admission.

Press Release (PDF) |