The Search for a Lost Pioneer Cemetery: The Brown Burial Ground Discovery Walk
“In every spot she scattered memories, as one scatters seed upon the ground, memories that take root and endure until death.”
On a cool autumn day, two weekends ago, The Brown Homestead staff members and several volunteers spent the afternoon scouring the rugged landscape of Short Hills Provincial Park. They purposefully pushed their way through thorny bushes, slogged through muddy puddles and tramped over flattened heights in search of something lost. They were searching for a vanished pioneer cemetery: the Brown Burial Ground.
Tombstones dot our provincial landscape, from newer, imposing granite and bronze edifices to slender, well-worn, grey and white marble slabs, who's engravings are barely legible whispers. Some have been nearly consumed by encroaching nature, trees growing up and around them. These sacred spaces speak to us of our history and of those who lived it, and Niagara is blessed to feature several of the province’s oldest cemeteries, including many dating back to the late 1700s.
In the earliest years of Loyalist settlement in Niagara, many families buried their loved ones near or even on the family farm. As the economy grew and cities formed, people began to bury their loved ones in churchyards and newly formed municipal cemeteries. Simultaneously, the movement of people and money meant that many original family burial grounds were left at the mercy of new owners, who often had little stake in ensuring that these burial grounds were maintained and kept free from Mother Nature’s ceaseless encroachment. Eventually, many were lost to time.
As it might be expected, being early settlers in a more remote area, the Browns had their own burial ground. We began to hear both first hand and anecdotal accounts of its existence after the site was purchased by the charity in 2015, and we have been searching for it ever since. It was said to be located nearby, across the street from the Homestead, on land that was part of John Brown’s original land grants, but that is now part of the Short Hills Provincial Park.
Looking across the street from the windows of the John Brown House, it is easy to forget that the lush wilderness we see today, was beautifully cultivated fields and orchards little more than half a century ago. But in the 1960’s a young boy who lived nearby used to walk through those fields after the farmers had plowed them, looking for arrowheads and other artifacts. He was also very intrigued with the grand stone house up the hill.
Some of you already know this story, because this is how Jon Jouppien discovered the Brown House! A well-known local historian and architect, Jon purchased the house in 1979 from the Powers’ estate with the intention of restoring it.
Jon remembered the cemetery from his childhood and his stories of the burial ground were our first clue as to its location. He said that at that time, there were no intact headstones, but a lot of pieces and fragments. Like other people, he remembered it as being on the side of a hill alongside the old Brown-DeCew Road. But he added one additional piece of information. He described it as an uncleared corner in a plowed field.
Our next clue to the burial ground’s location lies in a section of The Jubilee History of Thorold (1897-1898) dedicated to early cemeteries and burials. It reads:
“Before any churches were built the burying-grounds were on the settlers farms. ‘God's Acre’ the Germans reverently called these plots set apart for the dead. Most of the older tombstones have either been destroyed or the inscriptions have been so rudely cut that it is impossible now to decipher them. One of the oldest inscriptions in the Brown graveyard at the Gore reads : Magdalene Brown. Ap. 18th, 1804. Aged 54.”
“The Gore” referred to an irregularly shaped lot which still exists in the northwest corner of Thorold Township where Thorold, Pelham, Grantham and Louth Townships come together - right across Pelham Road from The Brown Homestead!
Another clue came from the Wiley family, who have been farming just around the block from The Brown Homestead since the mid-1850’s! In 1924, the Wylies purchased additional lands from Adam Smith, the great grandson of John and Magdalena Brown, including the lot where the John Brown Burial Ground was suspected to be located. Dave Wiley recalled visiting his grandfather’s house and noticing a big block of stone in the corner of the basement. Many years later, the family turned the stone around and, to their surprise, realized that it was Adam Brown’s headstone!
One of the most fun (although not always the most reliable) resources when researching local history is that very old person who is reputed to know everything about everybody. In our area in 1960, that person was Mrs. Harold J. Roland. Around the same time that young Jon Jouppien was roaming the fields and the cemetery, she mentioned a Smith Burial Ground in notes she gave to two ladies who were researching their Smith ancestors.
Mrs. Roland noted that the burial ground was off Pelham Road, south of a grey stone house on the west side, and that opposite this house was a path “leading to a camp called Weawascin.” Either someone roughly typed how Wetaskiwin sounded, or Mrs. Roland got the name slightly wrong, but it is clearly the same place, for she goes on to tell us that, “This road leads past the ‘hog’s back’ and if one veers left (north east) and continues on, the road from Power Glen to Decou Rd will be reached … The road from Pelham Rd at Power Glen is called Jackson’s hill and runs up past the large house called Spencerwood and on to Morningstar Mill and DeCou House.”
A ‘hogs back,’ was another name for a hilly ridge, and according to Mrs. Roland, the burial ground is down the country road (Brown-DeCew Road) off the hog’s back. When combining her information with a 1934 aerial photograph of the area and topographical photographs, it became apparent that her description brought us closer to the Brown Burial Ground.
This year, the Niagara Region has retained Archaeological Services Inc. to consult on a Regional Archaeological Management plan. One of our incredible volunteers, Lieutenant Governor’s Award winner, Brian Narhi, is the staff historians working on the plan. Brian’s desire to include the Brown Burial Ground in the report prompted us to take the research we had done lo these many years and put it into action.
Thus it was that on a misty, grey Sunday afternoon, The Brown Homestead staff and volunteers spread out across the elevated plateau beside old Brown-DeCew Road in hopes of finding the site. Rusted iron posts and trellises pierced the ground in places, the edges of a long abandoned vineyard. Beyond the trellises was the flat plateau we thought was a likely candidate for the burial site.
Brian Narhi and Kathy Beach
Brian had informed us that in this wilderness, other than the remnants of tombstones, evidence of the cemetery would likely be cornerstones marking the edges of the cemetery, and decorative plantings which would not originally have grown wild in the area. There was thus incredible excitement when our Program Manager, Kathy Beach, discovered a large stone nestled between a majestic rose bush and honeysuckle shrubs on the opposite end of the plateau! Brian had mentioned that honeysuckle in particular was often used in early cemeteries, and would have been planted long before.
In the discussion that followed the investigation Brian said he was now 99% sure that we had successfully located the burial ground, surmising that “the rose and corner stone and other shrubs actually mark the northerly edge of the plot, and that it would have extended southerly from there towards the plateau.” This elevated spot, overlooking the 12-Mile Creek, is consistent with pioneer burial, particularly German burial practices, as families often wanted to give their deceased loved ones and the cemetery visitors the best possible views of picturesque scenery.
Volunteers Clayton Hartwell and Mike Jackson
The next step for The Brown Homestead will be to confirm the location with ground penetrating radar. The long-term goal will be to provide protection for the site, and to put up a historical marker. We have also discussed the possibility of creating a trail off of Scout Camp Road one day with the Friends of the Short Hills Park. In the meantime, Brian has added our findings to his archaeological report to ensure the site is included in this critical historical record.
The discovery of a lost burial ground is significant. It ties memories, lives and a story to a physical place. We know that John and Magdalena Brown existed, but there is something added to their story when we understand how closely they stayed to their home when laid to rest. By identifying and commemorating the spot, we help to ensure that the memory of those buried is also preserved for the ages.
Our team also created our own memories during the hunt. In searching for something lost, we found more than just a cemetery. As our volunteers plunged passionately into the bramble-filled wilderness to help us with our quest, we also unearthed the boundlessness of our curiosity and comradery, discovered a great deal of laughter, and unveiled a great Sunday afternoon.
Please continue to follow our blog for updates about our work to commemorate the Brown Burial Ground. We too are excited to see what comes next!
