Prospect Cemetery

Smashing IT! 🌹 Historical Site. Step inside one of Toronto's largest and oldest Cemeteries. Well kept and very peaceful. It's also home to Toronto's largest WW1 and WW2 grave sites. Nestled on convenient St. Clair Avenue West. Whether you're visiting, paying respect, or just taking a stroll, this is a perfect spot to find inner peace and a sense of new direction. Prospect Cemetery was established in 1890. It was designed to be a non-sectarian cemetery to serve the growing communities west of the city. Prospect Cemetery is also known for their Remembrance Day ceremonies, which began in 1928 and includes a sunrise service. The cemetery is over 100 acres and contains roughly 170k burials. Once again, this is a respectful resting place for many, and it's also a peaceful place to pay one's respect or to just find some peace in one's busy day.

A narrow and super long cemetery, which is beautifully arranged, clean and well organized. Two roads lead through it and it has several nice corners. It’s a nice place for quiet walks. I came across two racoons. You can find there some war memorials and mausoleum too.

It's a pretty well maintained cemetery and smooth path

A lovely place to have a walk. Enjoy the changing colour of the leaves 🍁🍃🍂 and learn some history too. Particularly poignant was the memorial to fallen soldiers. The neighbourhood of Earlscourt sent 2,500 young working class British men to war, but over 320 never returned, making this the most impacted neighborhood in Canada on a per capita basis. 🇨🇦 Read about more history on the plaques that provide context on the many wars Canadians served in. The mausoleums were also of particular interest.

I came in from Montreal for a couple of days in the hopes of locating my Great Grandfathers plot. I had previously received some basic directions over the phone a few days prior to my trip, so I thought I would be good to go. Unfortunately the day I visited it was a civic holiday, so when I was unable to locate the grave the office was closed. I returned the following day and went straight for the office and I was glad I did. The woman I spoke to (Val) was extremely helpful. My Great Grandfathers plot I was told had no memorization, but Val took the time to plot out some markers and lot numbers that were in the general vicinity of where my GG's plot should be. She also was very attentive and took the time to answer any questions I had, and I did have a few :) The directions and the information she provided helped me find his plot. And what a surprise to find out that there was some markers flush in the ground bearing the names of 3 out of 4 of my relatives that are buried in that plot. Unfortunately my Great Grandfather (who was the final burial in 1940) has no sort of memorialization. I hope you can please pass along how much I appreciated Val's help and attention to detail. Well done!

Our glorious war dead rest in a well taken care of place of ease. Our glorious war dead resting at ease. Top shelf ground crew at Prospect!

What I like: -Large green space, wide roads/pathways to walk, run, bike and even drive -As a genealogist, it is a good place to do on site research, with many old headstones dating back well over a century -In a good location, accessible and has lots of parking if needed What I don't like: -Other cemetery visitors I see while visiting are often not respectful. I see people walking their dogs off leash or playing fetch, or smoking/throwing the butts away, or littering in other ways. Perhaps more patrol/security is needed. -Many of the flat headstones end up being buried by ground/soil and are not visible. More care needs to be taken so stones don't get lost to nature. -Sometimes it can be hard to locate a plot or gravesite. I wish there was a more detailed map of each section with how the plot numbers are done.

I have family here and this year me and my sister wanted to do something nice in memory of my grandma and we made a mini flower garden it was fine for months and we didn’t get any calls or notices about it not being allowed we even went over the cemetery website to make sure everything was okay to put and this week when my sister went to go see our grandmother the grave was left a mess all the decorations were gone and there was something left burning that’s ruined one of our decorations. I have 3 members in this grave and this is the first time our stuff has been left a mess and removed , I am so sad and aggravated to see that happen to the grave, if my grandma saw it she would’ve loved it I don’t understand why they had to leave it messed up.

I visited Prospect Cemetery yesterday to pay my respects to my wife's 2 brothers. I couldn't locate the plot but I knew the section (31-S). Two of your workers noticed me looking so they offered to help me find the gravesite. They asked me for the name that appeared on the plate. One of them knew the exact spot. The worker's names are Chris and Toto. They were very understanding and respectful. My heartfelt thanks go out to the both of them.