Mount Pleasant Cemetery ROMWalk
Oct. 26th, 2019 05:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_armourLast Sunday, I decided to go on a free walk that was being held by the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. As part of the subway was closed (and I refuse to use a shuttle bus unless I absolutely have to), I walked part of the way to the cemetery. On my journey along Yonge Street, I saw a really bizarre sight: a motor cycle gang dressed in costume. I don’t know what the event was for, but I made sure to take some pictures.
When I reached the entrance gate, I saw that a large crowd of people had already gathered. To be honest, I didn’t expect to see more than 30 or 40 people, but I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised considering that the ROM walk was free and it was such a gorgeous day. In any case, there were five or six ROM volunteers leading the walk, so they were able to split people up into groups of about 20 people. Well, that was what was supposed to happen, but some of the groups ended up being a bit bigger. I ended up in the last group, which must have had at least 40 people. While everyone was quiet and well-behaved, it was still hard to hear the guide at times, especially when she stood near Yonge Street to talk about the history of the cemetery. I found myself getting a bit ticked off as I strained to hear what the guide was saying over the sounds of traffic. I think that was when I began to take more interest in my surroundings than the historical lectures. As you’ll probably guess by the numerous pictures, this was the overall theme of the entire walk. However, saying that, I did learn some interesting things...when I could tear my eyes away from all the trees. *g*
Main entrance to the Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The cemetery was
opened in 1876 on what was once a 200-acre farm. The cemetery
was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2000.
If you can tear your eyes away from that beautiful tree, you’ll
see my group. I was often near the end because I was snapping
so many pictures. Actually, there was a guy with a proper
camera (it had detachable parts and everything) who also kept
lagging behind. He made me feel a little less guilty.
The Northrop-Gooderham Mausoleum, the resting place of two
families. Henry Stephen Northrop started the Northrop Lyman
Patent Medicine Company with John Lyman in 1854, while
Gooderham and Worts, once the largest distiller in Canada,
was founded by James Wort and his brother-in-law, William
Gooderham, in 1869. William Gooderham’s grandson, George
Horace Gooderham, married into the Northrop family in 1888.
French Mausoleum
The George D. Morse Mausoleum holds the remains of George Dennis Morse and
six family members. Morse was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1833 and came to
Toronto with his family in 1836. In 1864, Morse began a cattle shipping business
with his brothers, John and William. Morse then established G.D. Morse and
Company Soap and Candle Works in 1873. Morse died in a tragic accident on
June 27, 1887. Late at night, he was walking along some railway tracks near
Toronto Harbour. As he attempted to dodge an approaching train, he slipped
down the embankment and hit his head, falling into the bay and drowning.
The cairn and obelisk erected by the St. Andrew’s Society of Toronto in 1890. If
memory serves, members of St. Andrew’s Society are allowed to be buried here.
The Massey Mausoleum was built in 1891 in the Romanesque style
and was based on a design by E.J. Lennox, the architect who was
responsible for Old City Hall and Casa Loma. The mausoleum was
commissioned by Hart Almerrin Massey, a member of the famous
Massey family. A businessman and philanthropist, Hart Massey
built the agricultural firm that became Massey Ferguson.
Designed in the Georgian style, the Mount Pleasant Mausoleum was built in 1920
The Eaton Mausoleum was commissioned by Timothy Eaton, who is best known
for being the founder of Eaton’s department store. Eaton was born on a small farm
a couple of miles north of the town of Ballymena in Ireland in 1834. Tired of the
conditions he faced in Ireland, Eaton decided to emigrate to Canada in 1854. His
first real success was operating a general store and post office in Kirkton, Ontario.
He would go on to found the T. Eaton Company Limited in 1869, pioneering a
number of retail innovations, such as the decision to sell goods for cash only and
at a fixed price (as opposed to haggling) and offering a money-back guarantee. A
number of members of the Eaton family are interred in the mausoleum, including
three of Timothy Eaton’s children who died in infancy.
The monument commemorating the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, the worst
peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history. The Empress of Ireland was a
Canadian Pacific steamship that was bound for Liverpool and travelling on the
Saint Lawrence River in severely foggy conditions when it was struck by the
Storstad, a Norwegian collier, on May 29, 1914. The ship sank in only 14 minutes,
so there was no time to close the watertight doors and only five lifeboats could be
launched. Out of the 1,477 passengers on board, 1,012 died. The passengers
included a large contingent of Salvation Army members and their families, who
were heading to London to attend the third International Salvation Army Congress
in London. Despite the enormity of this tragedy, it seems that many Canadians
are unfamiliar with the story of the Empress of Ireland because it was soon
overshadowed by the start of the First World War.
It’s not easy to make them out in this photo, but there are 22 graves around the
monument. These are the recovered bodies of Salvation Army members who died
on The Empress of Ireland. The monument was commissioned by the Salvation
Army to honour those 167 members who died in the disaster. Designed by Salvation
Army Major Gideon Miller and sculpted by Emmanuel Hahn (who also designed the
Bluenose on the Canadian dime and the Caribou head on the Canadian quarter), the
monument was erected in 1916. The inscription on the monument reads as follows:
“In Sacred Memory of 167 Officers and Soldiers of the Salvation Army Promoted to
Glory From the Empress of Ireland at Daybreak, Friday May 29, 1914". Every year,
a memorial service is held at the monument to mark the anniversary of the disaster.
The rounded pillar shape of the monument is supposed to represent the fog that
the Empress of Ireland sailed through. If you look very closely, you might be
able to make out the Salvation Army crest engraved on the back of the monument.
At the base of the monument, there are sculpted waves and a seagull
no subject
Date: 2019-10-26 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-26 09:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 09:37 pm (UTC)Greatly intrigued by the photos of the bikers too. I wonder if it was a charity event ^__^
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 10:09 pm (UTC)Thank you very much,
It feels a slightly odd thing to say, but the cemetery is so beautiful. And its accompanying history is fascinating.
It is a very beautiful place. If it makes you feel any better, it's a place where a lot of people walk, bicycle and jog. I think it's meant to be a beautiful place that everyone can enjoy, despite its intended purpose.
I'm glad you found the accompanying history interesting. I wasn't sure if I was going overboard with it. I hadn't meant to include so much of it, but I got carried away as usual. *g*
Greatly intrigued by the photos of the bikers too. I wonder if it was a charity event ^__^
I think it must have been. A friend of mine pointed out that some bikers will visit children's hospitals. Apparently, there's one where they distribute teddy bears to patients. I wouldn't be surprised if the event -- whatever it was -- had some connection to kids.
no subject
Date: 2019-11-16 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-16 08:57 pm (UTC)Please don't worry about the late reply. I know that you're a busy mom, and I'm sure it's even more challenging to keep up with Dreamwidth if your son keeps breaking your phone. *g* As far as I'm concerned, it's never too late. It's all good. :-)