Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto

Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.In the early 19th century, the only authorized cemeteries within the city of Toronto (then known as York) were limited to the members of either the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England. Deceased citizens who did not belong to either of these Christian denominations had no choice but to find burial arrangements outside of the city. In 1873, a new cemetery available to all citizens was conceived. Originally a 200acre farm, on the far outskirts of Toronto, Mount Pleasant Cemetery opened on November 4, 1876 with more than twelve miles (19 km) of carriage drives along rolling hills and ponds. Mount Pleasant Road was later constructed to pass through the centre of the cemetery and is named after this cemetery. With the growth in population, today the cemetery is located in the centre of the city. While the watercourses have since been filled in, the cemetery still has many miles of walking paths, interspersed with fountains, statues, botanical gardens, and rare and distinct trees.The cemetery also has remains from Toronto Potter's Field, an early burial grounds that closed in 1855 between 1870s to 1881.As the final resting place of more than 168,000 persons, Mount Pleasant Cemetery contains remarkable architecture amongst its many monuments. The cemetery was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2000.Mount Pleasant Visitation CentreCompleted in the autumn of 2009, the Mount Pleasant Visitation Centre is a new building of approximately 2,200 square meters in size built on the cemetery grounds and providing visitation space and chapel services.