inventory report: 2222 north service road west, merton-mount … - business/19-merton-mt-plea… ·...

Inventory Report: 2222 North Service Road West, Merton-Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery

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19: 2222 North Service Road West, Merton-Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery

1. Description of Property Municipal Address 2222 North Service Road West Name (if applicable) Merton-Mount Pleasant Cemetery Legal Description PT LT 28, CON 2 TRAFALGAR, SOUTH OF DUNDAS STREET , AS IN TW3077 EXCEPT PL280, PL305;

OAKVILLE/TRAFALGAR Location of Property Located on narrow parcel of land between North Service Road and the Queen Elizabeth Way. Ownership Public – Town of Oakville Access Access granted by Town. Site visit completed on August 13, 2015 (AB, ES, CU) Current Use Cemetery (closed). Existing Designation Designated in 1993 under Part IV OHA (By-law 1993-20) as “a property of historical and

contextual value and interest”. The reasons for designation are set out in Schedule A to the by-law, which are attached here as Appendix A. The property is located within the boundaries of the Merton Planning Study.

General Description The cemetery comprises the former churchyard of Mount Pleasant (Episcopal-Methodist) Church (built 1880, deconsecrated 1927 and later demolished). It has approximately sixteen granite and limestone grave markers, arranged in rows. The cemetery was in use from 1886 to 1995 and includes headstones dating from 1888 to 1955. It is bounded by a row of trees on each of its northwest and southeast sides, and by post-and-wire fencing on its northeast and southwest sides. A lone lilac bush is located adjacent to one of the centrally located graves. The cemetery also includes the former cornerstone from the church.

Priority Level Low

Figure 1: Merton-Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery (CU, 2015).

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LEGEND

Merton CemeteryCultural Heritage LandscapeInventory Map

Drawing not to scale

Corporation of theTown of Oakville1225 Trafalgar RdOakville, ONL6H 0H3

Watercourse

Site Structures

Vegetation

Assessment Boundary

Building

CHL Study Area

Heritage District

Heritage Trail

Parkland

Park Trail

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Cemetery


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2. Key Recommendations Priority = Low

Rationale for priority level:

• No known vulnerabilities; and • All existing built and natural cultural heritage resources may not have been identified or included in designation.

Recommendations for future action:

● Retain the existing Part IV designation; ● Prepare a full evaluation report to confirm and update the heritage attributes of the property; ● Amend the existing by-law to add a description of heritage attributes; and ● Prepare a conservation plan to ensure regular maintenance and repair of gravestones.

3. Documentation and Inventory of Built Form List of Built Features:

● Sixteen granite and limestone grave markers;1 ● Marble date stone (1880) from Mount Pleasant Church, set in concrete; ● Bronze and concrete survey marker, labelled “Department of Highways”; and ● Post & wire fencing along the edges.

4. Documentation and Inventory of Natural Form List of Natural Features

● Ash, Elm, Catalpa along North Service Road West (about 20 years old); ● Thick, invasive Buckthorn and Wild Grape along edges in wooded areas; ● Lilac in centre at 1907 grave (“West”);newer trees along the QEW (Elm, Honey Locust); and ● The cemetery overlooks the QEW and the grade descends steeply towards the highway.

Note: there is no visible indication of an “old Indian trail” on site.

5. Design (Typology) ‘X’ all that

apply Categories of Cultural Heritage Landscape

Description

Designed Landscape “…clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man.”

Organically Evolved Landscape

“…results from an initial social, economic, administrative, and/or religious imperative and has developed in its present form in response to its natural environment”

X Relict Landscape (Evolved Landscape)

“…in which an evolutionary process came to an end at some time in the past.”

1 The Town of Oakville Parks and Open Space Department completed the monument restoration project for this cemetery during the summer of 2015.


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‘X’ all that apply

Categories of Cultural Heritage Landscape

Description

Continuing

Landscape (Evolved Landscape)

“…retains an active social role in contemporary society closely associated with the traditional way of life, and which the evolutionary process is still in progress.”

Associative Cultural Landscape

“…justifiable by virtue of the powerful religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent.”

6. Historical and Thematic Associations The former hamlet of Merton was established in in 1812 at the junction of Second Line (now Bronte Road) and Lower Middle Road (now the QEW). It was named for Merton, Middlesex County, England, the home of Edward Wrench, an early settler. The hamlet reached its peak population around 1880, a result of its role as a centre for harvesting local pine, and its prime location. Merton was located adjacent to the Bronte Depot on the Hamilton and Toronto Railway line and at the halfway point for highway travellers between the communities of Palermo (on the Dundas Road) and Bronte (on the Lakeshore Road). Merton was a stagecoach stop, with about 50 buildings, including a hotel, a school, a post office (1884-1917)2, a sawmill, a gristmill, a coal merchant and a blacksmith shop.3

Mount Pleasant Church was built in 1880 to serve the Methodist-Episcopal community in Merton. It was built on an acre of land donated by local farmer William Utter. Local M.P. William McCraney donated the timbers to build the church and a set of pulpit chairs. Mrs. Keturah Buck, wife of local doctor Anson Buck, laid the corner stone. The church was dedicated in 1881. Within 20 years, the congregation was in decline, and the church closed in 1918. In 1927 it was deconsecrated and sold at auction. The church was demolished and its materials recycled. The only remnant of the church is the marble date stone embedded in concrete on the site: “Mt. Pleasant, M.E. Church, 1880”.

The church grounds were established as a cemetery when the church opened in 1881, with the first burial taking place in 1886.4 The oldest remaining headstone is from 1888.5 The cemetery continued to be used after the closing and removal of the church building, with the last burial taking place in 1955.6 The cemetery is currently owned and maintained by the Town of Oakville. At the time of the site visit, several headstones had been recently conserved and re-erected.

The property was fenced in 1882 by Messrs. Dorland and Baillie. A wire-and-post fence currently along the perimeter of the property may represent the 19th century fence.

Parts of the property were expropriated for the construction of the adjacent QEW in the 1930s (completed 1939). A bronze-and- concrete Department of Highways survey marker remains on site from this work.

7. Contextual Associations The cemetery is sandwiched between the North Service Road and the QEW. It is the last known remnant of the former hamlet of Merton.

2 Ibid: 67. 3 Trafalgar Township Historical Society Digital Collections, “Mount Pleasant Methodist Cemetery, Merton, 1999,” accessed September, 2015 at http://images.ourontario.ca/TrafalgarTownship/2663885/data. 4 George Hebblethwaite. 5 Milo Secord, aged 8 days, July 5, 1888. 6 Isabel Luscombe.


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8. Evaluation (O. Reg 9/06)

O.Reg.9/06 Criteria Criteria

Potentially Met (Y/N)

Potential Justification

1. The property has design value or physical value because it,

i. is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material, or construction method,

N Not shown.

ii. displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit, or N Not shown.

iii. demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement. N Not shown.

2. The property has historical value or associative value because it,

i. has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community,

Y

The Merton-Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery is directly associated with the former hamlet of Merton, which reached its peak population, as a transportation hub and a centre for harvesting pine, around the same time the cemetery and former church were established c.1880.

ii. yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture, or

Y

The property has the potential to yield information that contributes to an understanding of the former hamlet of Merton, in particular the Methodist-Episcopal parish. Although no evidence was found on site to indicate the rumoured “old Indian trail”, this information may suggest that the property also the potential to yield information related to First Nations populations with a long history of land-use in the area prior to Euro-Canadian settlement.

iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community.

N Not known.

3. The property has contextual value because it,

i. is important in defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area, N

This is the last remaining element of the hamlet of Merton. The area no longer retains its historic character.


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O.Reg.9/06 Criteria Criteria

Potentially Met (Y/N)

Potential Justification

ii. is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings, or N This is the last remaining element of the

hamlet of Merton. iii. is a landmark. N Not shown.

9. Photographic Documentation

Figure 3: Grave side lilac planting near centre of cemetery (CU, 2015)


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Figure 4: Trees along North Service Road West (CU, 2015)

Figure 5: View overlooking QEW (CU, 2015)


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Figure 6: Detail highway survey marker along treeline (CU, 2015)

Figure 7: One of the grave markers, in good condition, but laid flat on the ground (CU, 2015)


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Figure 8: Remnants of wire and post fencing, which may date to 1882 (CU, 2015)

10. Analysis & Recommendations Potential Heritage Value:

The Merton-Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery is an evolved, relict cultural heritage landscape. It is directly associated with the former hamlet of Merton, which reached its peak at the time the cemetery was established in the early 1880s. It has the potential to yield information that contributes to an understanding of the former hamlet and the former Mount Pleasant church. It may also yield information about First Nations use that preceded European settlement.

Actions:

The cemetery is designated under Part IV of the OHA (By-law 1995-043). The reasons for designation are extremely lengthy, and are attached as Appendix A. The existing by-law protects the property and includes some of the property’s key features in its description of historical and contextual value. However it could be improved to conform with post-2005 requirements for designation by-laws by streamlining the description of heritage value and adding a list of the heritage attributes, including the natural and landscape features that contribute to the property’s cultural heritage value or interest. A full evaluation of the property would provide the information necessary to write an appropriate statement of cultural heritage value in keeping with the current requirements of the OHA.

Given that the property is already protected by the existing by-law, these improvements are not urgent, but would clarify the heritage value of the property for conservation purposes. Section 30.1 OHA provides that municipal council may amend a designation by-law without going through the designation process again, if the purpose of the amendment is to clarify or correct the statement explaining the property’s cultural heritage value or interest or the description of the property’s heritage attributes.

Because this property is owned by the Town, it may want to prepare an inventory of grave markers and a conservation plan to ensure the regular maintenance and repair of gravestones using appropriate conservation methods.


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A ‘low’ priority level is recommended for the following reasons:

• No known vulnerabilities; and • All existing built and natural cultural heritage resources may not have been identified or included in designation.

11. Sources The Canadian Register of Historic Places, “Merton-Mount Pleasant Cemetery,” Accessed online September, 2015 at http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15266.

Town of Oakville, “By-law 1993-20: A by-law to designate the Merton-Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery, located on the North Service Road West as a property of historical and contextual value and interest.”

Trafalgar Township Historical Society Digital Collections, “Mount Pleasant Methodist Cemetery, Merton, 1999,” accessed September, 2015 at http://images.ourontario.ca/TrafalgarTownship/2663885/data.

12. Appendix A SCHEDULE A TO BY-LAW 1993-20:

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The Merton-Mt. Pleasant (Methodist Episcopal) Cemetery was established in 1880 on the Grounds of the Mount Pleasant Church which was then under construction. The Church and cemetery were established to serve the Methodist-Episcopal Community of Merton.

Merton was a Hamlet that was established in 1812 around the junction of the Second Line (Bronte Road) and Lower Middle Road (Queen Elizabeth Way). The name “Merton” was suggested by Edward Wrench, a settler from Merton, in Middlesex County, England. Merton reached its peak in population around 1880 when it was a centre for harvesting the abundant supply of pine trees in the surrounding area. It was also an important transportation centre, approximately halfway along the route between Palermo on the Dundas Highway and Bronte on the Lakeshore. The hamlet was also adjacent to the Bronte depot on the Hamilton and Toronto Railway.

The erection of Mount Pleasant Church was completed at the close of 1880 and the Dedicatory Service took place on February 2nd 1881. The opening service was conducted by the Reverend Stone, a preacher from Hamilton and the Reverend Argue who was the pastor.

A “Monster Tea Meeting” followed the opening at which William McCraney, the M.P. for Halton was Chairman and who in addition to contributing to the opening ceremony had given the church a set of pulpit chairs and also gave the timbers and lumber for erecting the church. Other contributors to the building of the church included Mrs. Keturah Buck, wife of Dr. Anson Buck, who laid the corner stone and William Utter a local farmer who had donated one acre of his property to be used for the church and the cemetery.

Some of the names of families who attended the church and who were interred in the cemetery include Luscombe, Joyce, Douglas, Speers, MacDonald, Patterson, Oakley and Carpenter. The earliest headstone is for Milo Secord, son of Aaron and Emily Secord who passed away on July 5, 1888 aged eight days. The last headstone is for Isabel Luscombe who passed away in 1955 and was buried with her parents and brother who had died some years earlier. An interesting headstone is for John Oakley Joyce who had “drowned at Chicago” in 1892.

After the turn of the century, the congregation of the Mount Pleasant Church began to decline. By 1918, the congregation was so small that it became necessary to close the church and split the congregation between the Palermo and Bronte

http://images.ourontario.ca/TrafalgarTownship/2663885/data


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Churches. It was hoped at the time that if there was ever a need for a church in the future, that the church could be reopened. The church remained closed for nine years.

In March, 1927 the church was deconsecrated and was offered for auction. Out of respect for the people interred in the cemetery, however, it was decided that the cemetery would not be sold and would remain undisturbed.

Mount Pleasant Church was eventually sold, demolished and its materials were carried away for use in other buildings.

The only remaining trace of the church today is its datestone which is set down in the cemetery. The datestone reads “Mt. Pleasant, M.E. Church, 1880”.

The Merton – Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery contains a number of headstones of limestone or granite composition. The marble datestone for the Mount Pleasant Church is set in concrete among the headstones.

CONTEXTUAL SIGNIFICANCE

The Merton – Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery is located within a clearing of mature trees between the Queen Elizabeth Way and the North Service Road. The site is one of the last remnants of the Hamlet of Merton.

inventory report: 2222 north service road west, merton-mount … - business/19-merton-mt-plea… ·...

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