Welcome to the Cemetery!
The Onslow Cemetery is notable for being one of the oldest cemeteries in Nova Scotia and for once being an island within the marsh lands, with caskets being brought to the cemetery by boat in the early spring. Thus, the name of the cemetery is frequently referred to as the Onslow Island Cemetery. Today the adjacent marshland is protected from flooding by a series of dykes. Today, access to the cemetery is via a graveled road directly off of Nova Scotia Highway #2.
The Onslow Cemetery is renown for its peaceful and quiet setting, surrounded by trees and filled with the songs of birds (and the buzzing of mosquitos!).
Annual Work Day for 2024
Volunteers will meet at 9:00 on Saturday May 4th. All are welcome. Bring your rake and gloves, etc. If you have questions email onslowislandcemetery@gmail.com
Rain Date: Saturday May 11, 2024
Closure to Interments
Interments and headstone installations are not possible when the grounds are too wet. Typically the cemetery is closed to interments and heavy equipment work starting October 31st and opens in late April, conditions permitting.
Annual General Meeting
The 2024 AGM of the Onslow Cemetery Company will be held at 7:00 pm on Wednesday April 3, 2024 in the Basement of Trinity United Church, 415 Onslow Road, Upper Onslow, NS. All members and supporters of the Cemetery are encouraged to attend.
The Cemetery was established on September 13th 1763 and has seen roughly 400 burials across its 3.5 acres. Although in active use since 1763, the Onslow Cemetery still has room available for new burials.
The Onslow Island Cemetery was founded on September 13th 1763 upon the third meeting of the newly established Township of Onslow, where it was voted, “That the East side of the Island in the Uper Mash be aloued and sequestred for a buring place.” (Israel Longworth, Q.C., Truro c. 1880).
The Onslow Island Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Nova Scotia, and one of over a dozen graveyards in Colchester County containing the remains of the New England Planters, who arrived here during the 18th century following the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1755. The 121 Planters who landed here from Massachusetts resettled the lands and founded the Township of Onslow in the early 1760s.
In 1901, an Act of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly incorporated the Trustees of the Onslow Cemetery Company. The act has since seen an amendment in 2013 ensuring that lot holders, rather than the Governor in Council of the NS Legislative Assembly, approve any changes to by-laws.
The History of the Cemetery
A copy of the map of the Onslow Island Cemetery (previously known as the Burying Island, Onslow) drawn in 1898.