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Burkholder Cemetery

HISTORY

In October 1794, Jacob Burkholder, and his wife, Sophia de Roche arrived on Hamilton Mountain and were one of the first families to settle in the area.

The cemetery is located on Mohawk Rd in Hamilton. It was established on a portion of land owned by descendants of the original settlers. It is believed that as early as the year 1800 the people of the neighbourhood brought their dead here to be buried.

In 1839, the section of land was officially set aside, to be used as a common school site and a public burying ground. A log school was erected just inside the main gate of the cemetery, which was used for both religious and educational purposes. In 1850, a church was built on the same site known as, "The Little White Church". It stood for over one hundred years until the demand for a new, larger church forced its demolishment in 1955. In 1958, the current Burkholder United Church was erected.

During the early years of the old church, the people strongly believed in superstitions, signs, and omens. It was believed that if the cemetery claimed one victim, it would not be satisfied until it had at least three. Before the death of a very prominent person occurred, a strange light was said to run along the roof of the church.

Many visitors to this day say they used to see that same light running along the top of the church roof. There is no proof or explanation as to what the light is. The only logical theory is that it was the light orb of a faithful church member's spirit who passed on. Another belief was that angels hovered over a person's deathbed, but were only visible to the eye of those who held faith.

Our Experiences

When we pulled into the parking lot we met up with a couple of local people, Ashley and her friends. They gave us a little history of the cemetery and what people have seen. Ashley said that there were many reports of a woman in black who walked the cemetery. She also said that many times a woman was seen next to the double headstones under the willow tree. It is said to be that of a husband & wife who have passed on. Some folks claim that when they have bent down to read the husband's stone, his wife appears and scares them off, as if not to disturb her husband. Although we did not experience anything like this while we were there, Ashley did show us a stone of a young man that had died on the exact date that we were there. Other than the site being abnormally cold for that time of year (summer), nothing else was active for us that night.

As we walked through the tiny cemetery, we all felt at peace and were really calm throughout it. At this point we decided to head back to the car. As we said our goodbyes, Ashley told us of a cemetery that was down the street from our hotel I guess we'll have to check that one out!!