Autre nom(s)
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Liens et documents
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Date(s) de construction
1763/01/01 à 1763/12/31
Inscrit au répertoire canadien:
2006/01/11
Énoncé d'importance
Description du lieu patrimonial
The Old Cemetery is located on Main Street, Wolfville, NS, on the north side of the busy intersection of Main Street and Highland Avenue, just beyond the commercial centre of town. A random-rubble stone wall encloses the entire front side of the cemetery and includes a large wrought iron gate at its entrance. The cemetery grounds, which include some of the oldest trees in Wolfville, consist of several grass-covered interment areas, and separate family burial plots enclosed with stone pillars and iron links. The cemetery’s large grounds and mature trees provide a quiet oasis on one of Wolfville’s busiest streets. The land, grave stones, wall and fence are included in the municipal designation.
Valeur patrimoniale
The Old Cemetery is valued for its spiritual and cultural significance to the town of Wolfville, with its carved tombstones providing additional historic and artistic value. In essence, the cemetery serves as a record of the lives of the diverse townspeople who have lived in Wolfville since the town was founded. The gravestones signify an enduring association with the past by displaying the epitaphs, symbols, and carvings that chart over two centuries of spiritual life in the community.
The earliest cemetery in Wolfville and the only burial ground available to citizens until 1818, the Old Cemetery interred people from all denominations. The earliest tombstone dates to 1774, and among the people interred in the cemetery are: Nathan DeWolf (1729-89), the founder of Wolfville; Peter Bishop (1736-1825), the first minister of the Wolfville Baptist Church; Professor Isaac Chipman, the builder of Acadia University; and Rev. Edmund Albern Crawley (1799-1888), the founder-in-chief of Acadia University, one of its first two professors, and the designer of the first college building.
The cemetery is also valued for the primitive folk art designs found on many gravestones, some of which showcase the work of the Horton Carver (fl. 1783-1793), who is said to have been Scottish stone carver James Hay. Many of his sandstone grave markers are unique to the Horton-Wolfville area.
Sources: Town of Wolfville Heritage Property Program files, the Old Cemetery file.
Éléments caractéristiques
Character-defining elements of the Old Cemetery include:
- random-rubble stone wall with a wrought iron gate entrance;
- mature trees that separate the cemetery from the street and nearby intersection;
- original and historic grave stones and monuments, with their surviving inscriptions;
- grass-covered interment areas, and separate family burial plots enclosed with stone pillars and iron links.
Reconnaissance
Juridiction
Nouvelle-Écosse
Autorité de reconnaissance
Administrations locales (N.-É.)
Loi habilitante
Heritage Property Act
Type de reconnaissance
Bien inscrit au répertoire municipal
Date de reconnaissance
1987/01/19
Données sur l'histoire
Date(s) importantes
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Thème - catégorie et type
- Établir une vie sociale et communautaire
- Les institutions religieuses
- Exprimer la vie intellectuelle et culturelle
- La philosophie et la spiritualité
Catégorie de fonction / Type de fonction
Actuelle
- Religion, rituel et funéraille
- Site funéraire, cimetière ou enclos
Historique
Architecte / Concepteur
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Constructeur
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Informations supplémentaires
Emplacement de la documentation
Inventory Site Form found at Planning and Development Services, Town of Wolfville, 200 Dykeland Street, Wolfville, NS B4P 1A2
Réfère à une collection
Identificateur féd./prov./terr.
33MNS2001
Statut
Édité
Inscriptions associées
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