Events › Cemetery Month: Remember Me as You Pass By - Halifax's Old Burying Ground

May is Cemetery Month! Join us each week to hear from guest speakers who not only celebrate these sacred spaces, but educate on their history, beauty, and significance to our community.

The Old Burying Ground (OBG) at Barrington and Spring Garden was established in 1749 as a common burial place outside of the palisade walls of the new town of Halifax. It is the final resting place of more than 10,000 people. It closed to burials in 1844. The OBG is a National Historic Site, the first burying ground to receive this designation.

This talk, presented by Vanessa Smith and Craig Ferguson from the Old Burying Ground Foundation, will cover its history and use, some of the many stories behind the OBG’s surviving gravestones, and future plans for the site.

Vanessa Smith is an archaeologist and the Curator/Registrar of Archaeology for the Nova Scotia Museum. Her research interests include early colonial Halifax, particularly women and under-represented groups, as well as funeral archaeology, burial spaces, and commemoration.

Craig Ferguson is a writer and TV producer living in Halifax. He sometimes hyperfixates on cemeteries, local history, and biographies. Craig is the author of the book Dead In Halifax, and host of TV1’s "Graveyard Detective."