Notice of Intention to Designate 281 Book Road East, Ancaster (Book Cemetery)

The City of Hamilton intends to designate 281 Book Road East, Ancaster (Book Cemetery) under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, as being a property of cultural heritage value.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

The Book Cemetery, located at 281 Book Road East, Ancaster, possesses cultural heritage value because of its association with and use by members of the Book family as a private cemetery over an extended period of time (1815-1912), its continued location within a rural landscape, and its significant number of burials. The cemetery was established by John and Charity Book for the burial of their son, Henry Book, in 1815, and remained in use by the Book family for the next 97 years, with descendants of the family continuing to live in and around the Ancaster community. Out of 88 burials recorded in the cemetery, 85 monuments appear to be remaining: unusually high numbers for an early Euro-Canadian family cemetery. The cemetery is an excellent example of the burial practices of early Euro-Canadian pioneers in Ontario and provides insight into the Book family genealogy; one of the first Euro-Canadian families to settle in the Head-of-the-Lake area. Its demarcated location within a remnant of the original Book farm, relative proximity to existing and former family farmsteads, and the value that the community and descendants have imparted to the site, has allowed it to maintain integrity and cultural heritage value.

Cultural Heritage Attributes

The Book Cemetery’s heritage attributes derive from its archaeological, built heritage and cultural heritage landscape values associated with a nineteenth-century Euro-Canadian pioneer cemetery, as detailed in the following:

Built Heritage Features

• All existing 19th and 20th century stone markers and monuments, and their surviving icons and inscriptions; and,
• The variety of styles and materials represented in the markers and monuments, together with their individual material composition.

Archaeological Resources and Areas of High Archaeological Potential

• Archaeological value of features and artifacts related to the original definition and organization of the 19th century Euro-Canadian cemetery; and,
• Archaeological value of human remains contained within the cemetery and sub-surface funerary artifacts.

Cultural Heritage Landscape Features

• The grid design layout and placement of all graves, markers, and monuments;
• The well-defined boundary markers delineating the cemetery; and,
• The grassed areas, ground vegetation, and trees located within the cemetery, exclusive of the graves, markers, and monuments.

The Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest, Description of Heritage Attributes and supporting Cultural Heritage Assessment (PDF, 229 KB) , Book Cemetery Marker Map (PDF, 6.9 MB) are included here and viewable online.

Written Notice of Objection

Any person may, within 30 days after the date of the publication of the Notice, serve written notice of their objections to the proposed designation, together with a statement for the objection and relevant facts.

Dated at Hamilton, this 22nd day of December, 2017.

R. Caterini
City Clerk
Hamilton, Ontario

Contact:
Jeremy Parsons
Planner II: Cultural Heritage
Phone: 905-546-2424 ext. 1214
Email: [email protected]