Historical Walking Tours

Cemeteries Administrative Office
777 York Boulevard
Hamilton, Ontario L8R 2A4
Call 905-546-4704 or
Email [email protected]
Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Hamilton Municipal Cemeteries are like museums, with their headstones serving as a record of our culture and social history. Through an enduring stone, they reflect personal and national sentiment; speak of love, pity, and patriotism; summarize lives of remarkable longevity and remind us of lives lost through tragedy. Many of Hamilton’s colourful characters and history lie buried in our cemeteries.
Hamilton Municipal Cemeteries offers two types of tours. The Stories In The Stones are weekly historical tours and our History Unearthed – Historical Tours are geared to educational groups and private tours groups. All our tours are free of charge.
History Unearthed Historical Tours
The Hamilton Cemetery is Canada’s first and oldest municipally owned and operated cemetery providing a lasting memorial, permanent tribute and a final resting place to many loved ones. History Unearthed Tours are historically factual and designed to tell the history of the cemetery and some notable burials. The first burial recorded took place on May 14, 1850. Step back in time, and into history.
Tours can be organized for your school group, service club or for a group of friends by email. Please contact us to arrange your private tour. There is no cost for any of our tours. Cemeteries are sacred places where the dead are laid to rest with dignity. Visitors are asked to behave respectfully, please follow the directions and instructions of your tour guide.
Registration Information
When registering include:
- Group or Organization name
There is no cost for the tour. Confirmation will be sent by email.
Cemetery Chronicles – Historic Tours of Hamilton Cemetery.
Tours can be organized for your school group, service club or for a group of friends by email. Please contact us to arrange your private tour. There is no cost for any of our tours. Cemeteries are sacred places where the dead are laid to rest with dignity. Visitors are asked to behave respectfully, please follow the directions and instructions of your tour guide.
Registration Information
When registering include:
- Group or Organization name
There is no cost for the tour. Confirmation will be sent by email.
Cemetery Etiquette
Cemeteries are sacred places where the dead are laid to rest with dignity; therefore, visitors are expected to behave respectfully. Use the following as a guide when visiting any of our cemeteries.
- Hamilton Municipal Cemeteries are open to visitors between 8:00am and sundown. Our cemeteries are closed after dark. Please Observe all posted rules.
- Keep noise to a minimum. Most people that you will encounter on cemetery grounds are mourning the death of a loved one. If you see a funeral or other service in progress, please be respectful and give them their space
- Whenever possible, stay on the roadway. Be aware of your surroundings and watch for vehicles. To the best of your ability, avoid walking on the graves.
- Pets must be leashed and accompanied by the owner. Keep your pet under control and clean up after it. Do not allow your pet to roam over graves; rather, keep on the roadway.
- Do not litter. This includes cigarette butts. Take away any trash that you bring with you or deposit in the garbage receptacles placed on the grounds.
- Do not interfere with the plants or wildlife that inhabits the cemetery. Do not pick or damage flowers on cemetery grounds or adorning a grave. It is greatly upsetting for families to visit the grave and find flowers picked up or damaged.
- Do not touch or climb on monuments, as many of them are very old. Do not take rubbings of any monument without getting permission from the Hamilton Municipal Cemeteries to do so. Many stones are fragile and should not be touched.
Cemeteries are wonderful park like settings. Enjoy a casual walk, enjoy the natural beauty of the plants, trees and landscape and explore the history.
Cemetery Events
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