Mount Pleasant Cemetery
Plot V Lot A
On a chilly March day in 1876, Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery opened its gates for the very first time. Its inaugural burial was that of Marion Martin, a 50-year-old Scottish immigrant whose life had quietly unfolded in the growing city. Marion passed away on March 11, 1876, and just two days later, on March 13, she was laid to rest in Plot P, Section 3, Lot 1, marking an historic moment in the story of what would become one of Canada’s most notable cemeteries.
Mount Pleasant was envisioned as providing a serene, park-like resting place, a departure from crowded churchyard cemeteries common in this era. Marion’s interment symbolized the beginning of a new chapter in Toronto’s history. For 15 years, her grave remained in its original plot, a modest and solitary marker of change and progress.
Then, on October 22, 1891, her remains were carefully moved to the Martin family plot, to rests alongside her loved ones. Though little is known about Marion’s personal story, her place in history lives on; not for fame or fortune, but for being the first soul to grace the grounds of Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Source:
• Mount Pleasant Group – Marion Martin
