Once in a while I take a dear friend’s 90 something father out for a spin. Gives him a little adventure away from his retirement residence.

We always drive the rural roads. He grew up in the area so he’s got a story for almost all of them from Hamilton to Hagersville. Admittedly many of these stories seem to involve underage drinking in the 1940s but hey…

Recently he tossed out the random factoid that we were passing a cemetery on Book Road in Ancaster, Ontario. I notice there’s a maintained grassy area along the side of the road plus, up above, the hint of a fence line atop a steep hill.

So when I got home I look on the City of Hamilton website and, sure enough, there’s an old cemetery there: Book Cemetery.

Many of the markers are broken, weathered or being claimed by organics. As best I could see from the stones there hadn’t been a burial since 1899.
I wouldn’t exactly call it a ruin though; the mowed grass and pathway tells that the City of Hamilton respectfully maintains it.

Part of our local landscape that was news to me. Worth a wee blog post I thought.

If you go…
Book Cemetery is in Ancaster, Ontario.
281 Book Road East at Hwy # 6 South. North East corner. It’s pinned on Google maps.
Be aware that the access path on east side takes you up a steep hill. A short hike is needed to get up there.

The Book family were early settlers in the area. Early, as in 1789 early! Not the focus of this blog post but there is a nibble of Book Family history in this post on Facebook to get you started should you be interested.