Description of Historic Place

The Old North Head Cemetery is located on the top of a hill overlooking the North Head Harbour. The cemetery is not visible from Route 776 as it is up a very steep hill and located in behind the Church of Ascension buildings located at the very top of the hill. The cemetery is fairly level and easily accessible.

Heritage Value

The Old North Cemetery is designated a Local Historic Place as the final resting place for many citizens of Grand Manan Island. Various graves are of those who drowned in shipwrecks off the coasts of the Grand Manan Archipelago. The surnames of those buried here are still common on the island today. The oldest graves are for Capt. Wm. H. Benson dated 1783, and Ebenezer Gaskill dated Nov. 1788. The newest grave from this section is for Robert Bell 1909. A narrow gravel road divides the currently used part of the cemetery from the old cemetery.

Source: Grand Manan Archives – Local Historic Places files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the Old North Head Cemetery include:
- perched location overlooking North Head Harbour;
- family plots separated by narrow pathways;
- many tall family monument stones;
- headstones made of various stone materials, including marble and granite.