Union Cemetery is a urban

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta, Canada, containing about 21,000 graves. It is located in the city's southeast in the predominantly industrial district of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and is the burial place for many of the city's earliest pioneers and settlers, as well as over 150

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

burials from the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second World Wars. Along with Burnsland Cemetery, St. Mary's Cemetery, Chevra Kadisha (Jewish) Cemetery, and the Chinese Cemetery, Union Cemetery is recognized by Heritage Calgary as a culturally significant historical landscape, and every summer the city offers guided walking tours through the cemetery district.

History

Shortly after Calgary was incorporated in 1884, the town council determined that a Protestant cemetery was needed to complement the existing Roman Catholic graveyard. After initially choosing a location that was later deemed too rocky for digging graves, Union Cemetery was established at its current location in 1890. It was designed in the style of typical Victorian garden cemeteries which sought to create a welcoming park-like area for residents to visit. William Reader, the city's first Parks Superintendent, had his residence built at the north end of the cemetery. Reader also constructed the Reader Rock Garden where he spent years determining which plants were capable of growing in Alberta soils and surviving the harsh prairie winters; seeds from this garden were later sent to and grown in gardens across North America and Europe. The cemetery contains a field of honour administered by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

where 154 First World War casualties and 3 Second World War casualties are buried. The field of honour also includes several of the city's

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

veterans and is the location of a

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or ...

, 25 of which are in Canada. At the south end of the cemetery is a

potter's field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pu ...

where an estimated 1,000 poor and homeless residents were buried, as well as several executed criminals.

Notable interments

* A.E. Cross *

Red Dutton Norman Alexander Dutton (July 23, 1897 – March 15, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. Commonly known as Red Dutton, and earlier by the nickname "Mervyn", he played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey ...

William Roper Hull William Charles James Roper Hull (December 20, 1856 – April 4, 1925) was a Canadian rancher, meat packer, businessman, and philanthropist. He played a prominent role in western Canada's early economic development by integrating a systematic appr ...

* James Alexander Lougheed * Peter Lougheed * J. W. Grant MacEwan * Archibald McLean * Jerry Potts * John Ware

References

External links

Commonwealth War Dead, Union Cemetery

Heritage Calgary

{{coord, 51, 01, 40, N, 114, 03, 25, W, type:landmark_region:CA-AB, display=title Cemeteries in Alberta 1890 establishments in Canada

History

Notable interments

See also

References

External links