Prescott Cemetery

The Town of Prescott maintains the Prescott Cemetery (Sandy Hill) located at 975 Edward Street.

Our volunteer committee maintains a database of all reserved plots and information on all those interred. The cemetery is non-denominational and has areas set aside for regular plots, premium plots, and niches.

Please note: Burials are to be scheduled for Monday through Friday only, with no weekend interments. 

The Prescott Cemetery has been called Sandy Hill Cemetery by Prescott's residents for many generations. It came by this name in its founding document, the bequest of Edward Jessup III, grandson of the founder of Prescott, Maj. Edward Jessup. The will of Edward Jessup III, who died in 1831, left the "Sandy Hill north of town at the edge of the swamp", where generations of his family had been buried, to the churches of Prescott in trust. The original bequest from Edward Jessup III only included the part of the hill fronting on Edward Street. That is where the oldest burials are located, including the Jessup family plots at the top of the hill. These Jessup gravestones can be accessed by means of a stone stairway that was installed in 1967 as a project by the Grenville County Historical Society to celebrate Canada's centennial. Near the end of the nineteenth century the cemetery had reached its capacity and the cemetery trustees decided to buy additional land to the west, including the rest of the hill, to accommodate future burials. By the early twentieth century this space had also filled up and additional purchases of contiguous land were made. By 1935 the cemetery had grown to its current configuration.

The cemetery is one of the oldest operating cemeteries in Ontario. The earliest recorded burial in the cemetery is of Captain Simeon Coville, the father of Edward Jessup III's mother, Susannah Jessup. The names on the monuments tell the history of many of the founding families of Prescott and the generations that followed, who were drawn from successive waves of immigrants that flooded into Canada during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Prescott grew quickly to around 3000 residents in the seventy five years after its founding in 1810 and then more slowly after that (today's population is just over 4000). It has always remained a small town. Prescott's size was limited by its geography, the 1200 acre land grant of Maj. Jessup from the Crown for his loyalty during the American Revolution and the additional land that Susannah Jessup inherited from her father, also a United Empire Loyalist. One result is that the members of many Prescott families intermarried and these relationships can be read on the various monuments in the cemetery. Another is that the cemetery has remained a small cemetery but one which is capable of growth.

By 2010, the churches were no longer able to maintain the cemetery because of the rising costs and the running of it was turned over to the town. Since then the town has appointed volunteer trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the cemetery. It is open for use by all denominations although the Catholics have had their own cemetery, St. Mark Cemetery, for many years. Prescott Cemetery operates from mid-April until December or the first major snowfall. The well-kept appearance and condition of the cemetery reflects the pride the community takes in its part and the people who have made Prescott what it is today.

You may purchase a plot or niche for your loved one by contacting 613-925-2812 or by emailing cemetery@prescott.ca.

Pricing can be found below.

No. Size Price of Interment Rights Care & Maintenance
1 4' x 10' $791.60 $316.64
2 8' x 10' $1583.19 $633.28
3 12' x 10' $2352.74 $941.10

Premium Lots are subject to availability. 

No. Size Price of Interment Rights Care & Maintenance
1 4' x 10' $1241.42 $496.57
2 8' x 10' $2482.83 $993.13

An additional charge for 4 cornerstones applies to all plot purchase. Price determined by supplier.

Care and maintenance payment is the greater of $250.00 or 40% of Interment Rights Price and is made by Prescott Cemetery to a Public Trustee.

Prices include the opening and closing of a grave

Infant $568.02 ($30 license fee included)
Adult $741.01 ($30 license fee included)
Urn $476.51 ($30 license fee included)

Effective July 1, 2023, the license fee will increase from $12 to $30 as per the Bereavement Authority of Ontario licensing requirements. 

Transfer of Interment Rights (administration charge) $283.34

The following markers may be installed on each plot:

  • Flat Marker
  • Upright Marker

Each individual grave can accommodate one (1) casket and one (1) urn or, alternatively, two (2) urns. Multiple depth burials are not permitted.

More information can be found in the Cemetery By-laws

Double Niche (12" x 12" x 12")

Price of Interment Rights Care & Maintenance Lettering
$2415.00 $362.25 Price determined by Supplier

Care & Maintenance payment is 15% of price of Interment Rights and is made by Prescott Cemetery to a Public Trustee.

Opening/Closing of Niche (does not include price of inserting final date)

Price determined by Supplier $124.58

 

The Winter Storage season begins November 1 and ends May 31 each year.

Per casket, per month $150.00

*Effective July 1, 2024

Urn $446.51
Casket only ( plus any additional cost) $2045.14
Casket in Vault (plus any additional cost) $2697.82
  • Each season the cemetery shall open April 15 and close October 15 (weather permitting)
  • Burials outside these dates are at the discretion of the Prescott Cemetery
  • Burials shall occur Monday - Friday; no weekend burials 
  • Cemetery Gates will be closed on December 1 to vehicular traffic 
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