On May 14, 2022, a special ceremony was held at the Wesleyan Methodist Cemetery on County Road 29, just south of Almonte. The ceremony included the unveiling and dedication of a plaque recognizing a Veteran of the War of 1812, Private John Donohoe Sr.
Private Donohoe was a member of the King’s 8th Regiment, his grave site is located in this cemetery and was recently recognized, marked and remembered by the Canadian Regiment of Fencible Infantry. The ceremony included local dignitaries, Canadian Fencibles, the North Lanark Historical Society, local Branch 240 President Rob Madore, Donohoe family members and guests.
The cemetery itself opened in 1827, it also contains the remains of many early settlers of Upper Canada including Daniel Shipman, founder of Almonte, and Joseph Teskey, founder of Appleton to name just two.
The cemetery was closed in 1947 and over time fell into disrepair. In 1979, Jean Steel and Dawn Leduc spearheaded a drive to restore the cemetery in which many headstones were preserved by placing them in concrete.
The cemetery is fenced and contains several stone corner posts which have now fallen into disrepair. The Canadian Legion, Local Branch 240 wishes to raise funds to repair the posts for years to come and hopes to complete this project for the 200 year Bi-centennial which will be held in the summer of 2023.Costs are anticipated to be approximately $20,000 to repair the stonework.
How you can help:
Donations to the project can be e-transferred to donations@rcl05240.ca or dropped off at the Branch. We appreciate any and all contributions to this project for not only Veterans’ of wars past as well as the founding fathers of our community that are laid to rest there.
For any questions, please contact info@rcl05240.ca.
