Description of Historic Place

Mount Hope Cemetery is a burial ground situated at the top of a hill overlooking the historic Mount Hope Farm property. The site is located just off the Nerepis Road, and is accessed by a steeply inclined entrance that is lined with mature trees.

Heritage Value

Mount Hope Cemetery is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the Colonel Henry Nase and the General John Coffin families. Friends, fellow officers, Loyalists, and the area’s earliest settlers, Nase and Coffin donated a plot of land where their properties intersected to the local community with the intention of establishing a non-denominational cemetery for residents of the area. Elizabeth Nase, daughter of Colonel Henry Nase, was the first to be buried in the cemetery, in 1791. Her headstone, the oldest in Kings County, is positioned to look directly over the Nase family homestead, known as Mount Hope Farm. Later Nase burials are positioned in the same manner. These early stones are mainly of white marble in tablet form, which is typical for cemeteries of the period.

The cemetery’s significance also resides in its association with other early settlers of the area now known as Nerepis, including the Brittain, McKenzie and Stewart families. As such, it is a contributing element to the rich heritage of the Grand Bay-Westfield community.

The cemetery has aesthetic value as a fine example of a rural cemetery of pastoral landscape design. Situated at the top of a hill and sheltered by mature trees, the well-cared for grounds are of grassy typography. The grounds are a distinctive feature of the local historic landscape.

Source: Grand Bay-Westfield Historic Places Files: Mount Hope Cemetery

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements associated with the site's heritage value include:
- sign marking the entrance to the site;
- location on top of a steeply inclined hill, overlooking Mount Hope Farm;
- early white marble markers of simple design, including marker of Elizabeth Nase (d. 1791);
- position of early Nase family markers, located to look directly over the home of Col. Henry Nase;
- continuous use as a burial ground since Loyalist times;
- diverse tombstones, ranging from simple white marble stones dating to the late 1700s, to modern black granite stones;
- recently added black granite stones marking the boundaries of the cemetery;
- grassy topography with mature trees and landscaping.