Hillcrest Cemetery Archival Project
Through the help of a grant funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Heritage House Museum, Hillcrest Cemetery, Lanark County Genealogical Society and the Town of Smiths Falls have partnered together to strengthen and promote Hillcrest Cemetery as a historical and genealogical resource for the community. We will build on our existing volunteer core to expand community access and involvement with the municipal cemetery through the digitization of all municipally owned cemetery archives and the implementation of an interpretation plan of the cemetery grounds. This project will greatly assist the above mentioned project partners in a collaborative effort which has been in progress since 2009, and more importantly will build on the talent, creativity and drive of our volunteers to promote the use of compiled information for genealogical researchers and further development of historical interpretation at the cemetery.
Volunteers are currently actively participating in the digitization of approximately 9,000-10,000 historic cemetery records from the c. 1830s to present day, into a specifically designed computer database. The next phase of the project is to compile this information and
create create self-serve research and interpretive resources for genealogical researchers, family members and the community to use and celebrate our common community heritage.
Photo: Natalie Wood of the Ontario Trillium Foundation presents Mayor Dennis Staples with a plaque representing Trillium’s $42,900 contribution to the Hillcrest Cemetery Archival Project. Project Partners & Volunteers (Left to Right) Nancy Lake, Sarah Rathwell, Shirley Somerville, Carol Miller and Gerald Linton. Missing from this photo are Mr. Randy Hillier MPP and Margo Loughren. (Photo Credit – Stacey Roy, Smiths Falls EMC)
When the project has been completed we will have printed reference binders, a digital database available on-site and online, physical cemetery markers to help navigate the site, and interpretive panels to be installed onsite in the cemetery, all with the goal of assisting the community who will use Hillcrest Cemetery and guaranteeing the sustainability and lasting impact of the project through the establishment of a strong and active volunteer sector (Friends of Hillcrest Cemetery).
If you are interested in becoming involved in this project please contact:
Sarah Rathwell
Hillcrest Cemetery Archival Project Coordinator
Tel: 613-283-6311
This project was funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
http://www.otf.ca/
Contacts
Sarah Rathwell
Hillcrest Cemetery Archival Project Coordinator
613-283-6311
email
Contact Information
Heritage House Museum
613-283-6311
email
Address
P.O. Box 695, 11 Old Sly's Road,
Smiths Falls ON K7A 4T6
This content was last updated on
Thursday, March 22, 2012
All documents found on our website are also available in hard copy by contacting the Town Hall.
