Union Cemetery is a urban

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta, Canada, containing about 21,000 graves. It is located in the city's southeast in the predominantly industrial district of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and is the burial place for many of the city's earliest pioneers and settlers, as well as over 150

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

burials from the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Along with

Burnsland Cemetery Burnsland Cemetery is a urban cemetery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada containing about 22,000 graves. It is located in the city's southeast in the predominantly industrial district of Alyth/Bonnybrook/Manchester, Calgary, Manchester, and is the buri ...

, St. Mary's Cemetery,

Chevra Kadisha The term ''chevra kadisha'' () gained its modern sense of "burial society" in the nineteenth century. It is an organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of deceased Jews are prepared for burial according to Jewish tra ...

(Jewish) Cemetery, and the Chinese Cemetery, Union Cemetery is recognized by Heritage Calgary as a culturally significant historical landscape, and every summer the city offers guided walking tours through the cemetery district.

History

Shortly after Calgary was incorporated in 1884, the town council determined that a Protestant cemetery was needed to complement the existing Roman Catholic graveyard. After initially choosing a location that was later deemed too rocky for digging graves, Union Cemetery was established at its current location in 1890. It was designed in the style of typical Victorian garden cemeteries which sought to create a welcoming park-like area for residents to visit. William Reader, the city's first Parks Superintendent, had his residence built at the north end of the cemetery. Reader also constructed the Reader Rock Garden where he spent years determining which plants were capable of growing in Alberta soils and surviving the harsh prairie winters; seeds from this garden were later sent to and grown in gardens across North America and Europe. The cemetery contains a field of honour administered by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

where 154 First World War casualties and 3 Second World War casualties are buried. The field of honour also includes several of the city's

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

veterans and is the location of a

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth War grave ...

, 25 of which are in Canada. At the south end of the cemetery is a

potter's field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pur ...

where an estimated 1,000 poor and homeless residents were buried, as well as several executed criminals.

Notable interments

* A.E. Cross *

Red Dutton Norman Alexander Dutton (July 23, 1897 – March 15, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. Commonly known as Red Dutton, and earlier by the nickname "Mervyn", he played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hock ...

William Roper Hull William Charles James Roper Hull (December 20, 1856 – April 4, 1925) was a Canadian rancher, meat packer, businessman, and philanthropist. He played a prominent role in western Canada's early economic development by integrating a systematic app ...

James Alexander Lougheed Sir James Alexander Lougheed, ( or ; 1September 18542November 1925) was a businessman, lawyer and politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a senator for 35 years, and held a number of Cabinet positions. Early life Lougheed was born in th ...

Peter Lougheed Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth. ...

* J. W. Grant MacEwan * Archibald McLean *

Jerry Potts Jeremiah Potts ( – July 14, 1896), (also known as Ky-yo-kosi, meaning "Bear Child"), was an American-Canadian plainsman, buffalo hunter, horse trader, interpreter, and scout of Kainai (Blood) and Scots heritage. Early life Potts was born in ...

* John Ware

References

External links

Commonwealth War Dead, Union Cemetery

Heritage Calgary

{{coord, 51, 01, 40, N, 114, 03, 25, W, type:landmark_region:CA-AB, display=title Cemeteries in Alberta 1890 establishments in the Northwest Territories Buildings and structures in Calgary

History

Notable interments

See also

References

External links