Video of Cemetery
St. James the Apostle Anglican Church, Fenelon Falls
[Two rows of old gravestones are displayed on top of a sloped support made of cement]
Although the congregation of St. James enjoyed all the benefits of an official parsonage, “Church Hill” and its churchyard served as Fenelon Falls’ first cemetery. Three members of the Langton family are buried here. In 1839, the church finally succeeded in attracting a permanent minister financed by subscriptions from Britain and a grant from the colonies church.
After the St. James log church was constructed, Anne Langton writes in her journal about the lack of suitable roads to the church property and the “afterthought” that placing the church on a hill, made for long hikes on a Sunday afternoon in every season. However, Anne also journals her annoyance when services did not start on time.
By 1890, parts of the churchyard were sold and fell into disrepair. Rumours of an “unconsecrated graveyard” around the log church remained until well into the 1890s when finally a Bishop arrived to consecrate the area of the graveyard that had not been sold.