St. James’ Cemetery ROMwalks

Posted: July 3, 2012 - 09:13 , by royal
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St. James’ Cemetery, opened at the corner of Parliament and Bloor Streets in 1844, is the eternal resting place of many of the prominent families of York and Toronto.  Monuments and mausoleums are engraved with the names Jarvis, Ridout, Gooderham, Cawthra, Baldwin and Osler among others. Stories of success and scandal abound.

Also buried in St. James’ are some of the nameless victims of the Irish famine. In 1847, 38000 Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine arrived in Toronto, then a city of only 20,000. Many of the immigrants were ill with typhus and other diseases and were sent to fever sheds constructed at King and John Streets to accommodate the sick. An estimated 1100 people died, immigrants and their caregivers, and 281 are buried in St. James’ Cemetery.

To learn more, join us on July 8th for the St. James’ Cemetery ROMwalk.

St. James the Less Chapel – picture by Paul Vaculik

ROMwalks 2012 Season Schedule