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14 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006 4.11% 4.27% 4.35% $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Archie Braga 315 Queen St.E. Acton Ont. 519-853-4694 10/24/06 LET US WELCOME YOU! Our Hostess will bring gifts and greetings, along with helpful information about your new community. Call Betty Ann 853-1944 Pioneer remains reinterred in solemn service A service was held yester- day (Wednesday, October 25) at the site of the Acton pioneer cemetery, with Rev Canon Mark Tiller and Father Bob Bulbrook of- ficiating to reinter human remains found near the site of the new Acton Agricul- tural Society building. Archaeological work done in Prospect Park, Acton in April of this year resulted in the location of human remains near the limit of the original pioneer cemetery in the park. The work was done in conjunction with site investigations required as part of the development of the Acton Agricultural Society facility. Overseen by Fisher Archaeological Consulting of Hamilton, the interment of the human remains brings closure to the investigation in a proper manner. There were over 260 recorded burials in this Pio- neer Cemetery, says Mayor Rick Bonnette and we see that with the new develop- ment of the Acton Indoor Soccer facility, we have the opportunity to properly mark the limit of the cem- etery and lay the remains of those that were disturbed to rest. The remains are com- prised of bone fragments of varying sizes from two different individuals. Al- though we dont know the names of these individu- als, said Terry Alyman Director of Recreation and Parks it is important to lay them to rest. It also meets the requirements of the Cemeteries Act by having a recorded location and a fence to protect the area from further disturbances. The bone fragments do provide some telling evi- dence; at least one of the remains is female, and an- other an older adult based on the size and condition of the bones found. Another bone exhibits a healed frac- ture known as a boxers break on a hand, giving a glimpse into some of the stories these early residents can share. The service was attended by Mayor Bonnette, and Ward 1 Councillors Somer- ville, Hurst and OLeary. Bob MacKinnon of the Shoemaker Family Chapel donated the funeral services and bagpiper Tracy Porter led the procession back to Knox Presbyterian Church following the interment. Established 1843 The Cemetery is located at the east end of Prospect Park, north of Knox Pres- byterian Church. It was established around 1843, although burials were prob- ably done on the property as early as 1830. It was turned over to the municipality around 1934. Tombstones were later collected and placed in the cairn that was constructed on the site. Actons Early Days says for the first 10 or 15 years of settlement in what is now Acton, the settlers who died were laid to rest in a consecrated spot in a clear- ing of the homestead. But as the years passed a common burial ground was sought. People in the 1800s thought a graveyard should be associated with a church. Churchyards were gener- ally enlarged to make a fitting resting place for the residents of the community who died. Hardly had the lot been secured for the erection of a Scotch kirk in Acton, in 1843, when it was decided to secure a lot in the rear for a graveyard, Actons Early Days relates. Among the first to be interred there was the Rev. Zenas Adams, one of the towns founders, and a Methodist preacher. All filled up In the course of time the original graveyard was filled up and an addition became necessary. Two men, John Speight and Al- exander Grant, purchased the additional property and they were to be recouped from the sale of family plots and graves. However, before they were fully com- pensated agitation for a completely new cemetery began in another location. Eventually, after a lengthy debate about the location, the present Fairview Cem- etery was opened and the old graveyard closed with further burials prohibited in 1886. It should be remembered that the first Scotch kirk was situated further north on Main St. than the present Knox Presbyterian Church. The present church was not erected until 1895, 111 years ago, on the site of what was known as the Adams Block, one of the first busi- ness places in Acton when it was called Adamsville. The Adams Block was destroyed by fire in the fall of 1870 and the lot was va- cant for over 20 years before Knox was built. Main St. It should also be known that Main St. as the name infers was the principal place of business in Actons early days. All the business in the village was transact- ed on Main St; businesses along Main. St. included two taverns, three or four blacksmith shops, a woollen mill, two tanneries as well as the first school and the Presbyterian Church with the graveyard behind it. After Fairview Cemetery was opened the old grave- yard lay neglected until 1933 when a committee headed by Nelson Moore gathered all the weathered headstones and had them built into a permanent cairn in the centre of the old graveyard. It is recorded that the first burial there was a Phineas Adams. The earliest settler recorded was a Catharine Anderson. Actons Early Days notes that as well as village nota- bles, among the burials were James Gardiner killed in the Big Mill and Catharine Keith who was found dead in a snowstorm. Alexander McArthur was killed at a barn raising and the latest burial was Peter McDonald, who died in 1886. Then there was John McGill, who was shot in Wyoming, and James, Mary Louise and William Allan McLennan, who succumbed to diph- theria in an epidemic of that dread disease. Bitty Widow McNabb was lost in the woods and found dead; Marjory McPherson had the longest span of life, 1783-1881. Both are interred there. John Plewes was the first grist miller, Robert Swan the first Postmaster and Charles Shanks a teacher, all of them interred in the old graveyard. When Fairview Cem- etery was opened some families purchased plots and had the remains of loved ones removed from the old graveyard and reinterred in Fairview. However, not all the hundreds of remains were reinterred so its not surpris- ing archaeological work would discover gravesites on the site of where the new agricultural society building is being constructed. No Referral Necessary DE MELO CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS CENTRE Dr. Dave de Melo D.C. Deanna Wilson B.Sc., D.Ch. Foot Specialist Naomi Bedell R.M.T. Registered Massage Therapy (519) 853-3460 EVENING APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE Safe, Gentle Chiropractic Care Computer Generated Spinal Analysis Emergencies & Workers Comp Accepted New Patients Welcome 25 Main Street North, Acton Across from Giant Tiger Plaza PIONEER REMAINS BURIED: In a childs cloth covered white casket with the skirl of bagpipes from Tracy Porter, bone fragments from two early Acton residents that were uncovered during work on the new Acton Agricultural Society building in Prospect Park were re-interned during a ceremony at Actons Pioneer Cemetery on Wednesday morning. Frances Niblock photo