Jane’s Walk “Strolling in Mount Pleasant Cemetery” A Tour of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery led by Dean Mart Salumäe

Saturday, May 4 at 11am, the next Estonian-themed Jane’s Walk will take place. This time the plan is to tour Mount Pleasant Cemetery led by Dean Mart Salumäe. We will gather at 11am in Section 46 at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The tour will end at 12:30pm with a discussion and coffee at St. Peter’s Church (817 Mt Pleasant Rd.).

Free admission!

Info: piret.noorhani@vemu.ca,
t. 416 925 9405

Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery was designed by architect Henry Engelhardt using Mount Aubum Cemetery in Boston as a model. It was opened in 1876 and initially the plot along the west side of Mount Pleasant was taking into use.

Today, the cemetery is one of Toronto’s largest, taking over the areas on both sides of busy Mount Pleasant Rd.

In total, there are 168,000 graves, tens of kilometres of paths, and a great deal of well-designed landscaping.

The refugees who fled Estonia in 1944 and ended up in Toronto needed a place to lay their loved ones to rest fairly soon after their arrival. The first Estonians who passed away in Toronto were already buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in the mid-1950s. By the end of the 1960s, a separate area had taken shape where a number of Estonian refugee families procured plots for themselves. Every summer cemetery anniversaries were also celebrated.

Now, Mount Pleasant Cemetery is the final resting place for over 500 Estonians.

During the tour, we will look at the resting place of Estonians in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. We will also discuss burial traditions and how they have changed over time, as well as how Canadian traditions have mixed with traditions brought along from the homeland.

We will also explore the cemetery and remember well-known Canadians that rest at this cemetery.

Text – Dean Mart Salumäe

Map of meeting place: