Forgotten London Cemetery part of Sifton's Land by Beth Moyer
As development continues to fill in the Riverbend area on the west side of London, the forgotten cemetery on the hill near the Sifton offices, on Oxford Street West, remains untouched and also unmarked. Mary Anne Dunn (nee Parker) lived on Westdel Bourne just across the road from this cemetery and was friends with Stuart (or Pete) Dunn, who lived in the farmhouse next to the cemetery. She recalled playing in the orchard that once ex - isted among the tombstones as a teenager in the 1960s. She was just 17 when she stumbled over a tombstone for Mary Anne Parkinson, who died at the age of 17. This was a bit of a shock, given the similarity between their names and ages. The young people pulled the stones out of the orchard and simply propped them up along the fence line next to the road. No one paid much attention. And the tombstones disappeared one by one. The London Free Press ran an article on this cemetery by Ian Gillespie approximately ten years ago. According to Gillespie, the graves were "invisible from the surface – likely dug between 1815 and 1890." Attention was brought to the site when "Ar - chaeologists discovered fifty-three graves, all but one oriented in an east-west direction, most aligned in five rows and some clustered in groups of two to twelve – likely family plots." The Dunn house once stood at the crest of the hill on Oxford Street West, where Sifton's offices are located. The property is associated with a ghost story from the time of the War of 1812, written by Mary Fountain (nee Kilbourne). Mary lived in this home for a while. "Following an illness, my par - ents moved to a farm in Westminster Township, where I could
have butter, milk and cream, to a house which was supposed to be haunted. Crumbling tombstones in an old burial ground could be seen from the west windows and Mother's concern was with the leaky roof and having to put the wash boiler on top of the stove whenever it rained. See the full story in Kilworth – The Woodhull Settlement. As the years pass and London's rapid development alters the landscape, our historical documentation grows in importance. If you can add to the history of this forgotten cemetery, please email bethmoyer54@gmail.com. The Dunn farmhouse was located where the Sifton offices, West 5, are currently situated. The cemetery beside the Sifton building may contain the graves of the families of Kilbourne, Montague, Schram, Mair and Rodgers. c 1950s. Photo courtesy of Mary Anne Dunn
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