Description
Located at 431 Queenston St., the cemetery is open to the public for visits and business. The office is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the mausoleum is open to the public daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
History
Established in 1856 in the east end of the City beside the Welland Canal, Victoria Lawn Cemetery consists of 170 acres of grave sites today, with more than 86,000 people interred and 155 years of history. The Town hired renowned landscape gardener Robert Mundy to plan the cemetery and plant the flower beds and trees. Originally named the St. Catharines Cemetery, Victoria Lawn Cemetery took its current name in honour of Queen Victoria of England at the turn of the twentieth century. In 1918, the Cullinen Mausoleum on Queenston Street was constructed to include about 300 crypts. By the 1920s the original cemetery was running out of space, and the farm across Queenston Street was purchased and became the new cemetery. By the 1960s the new cemetery was again short of space, so additional land was purchased at the south end of the cemetery. In the 1980s a few mausoleums were built to meet with the demands for entombment. In 2000, the Garden of Memories Mausoleum was established. Other buildings such as the Carillon Bell Tower, the Chinese Pagoda and Mountainview Homes Gazebo have been donated to make the cemetery more enjoyable and comforting.
