Mount Pleasant Cemetery was established in 1875 by a group of London businessmen wanting a nondenominational cemetery. The cemetery is still run today by a group of business people (all lot owners) who form a Board of Directors who volunteer the time they serve of the Board. An annual meeting is held in the Spring of each year when all lot owners are invited to attend. The Chapel and Crematorium were built in 1971 to accommodate the changing needs of families. The oldest sections B, C, and F. Here you will find memorials to the Carlings (Sir John Carling, original member of Canada's first Cabinet); Dorothy McClary "a niece of John Adams and cousin of John Quincy, 2nd and 6th Presidents of the United States"; Simeon Morrill, first mayor of London Town: Dr. William Saunders, first director of the Experimental Farms Branch, Department of Agriculture and one of the founders of Mt. Pleasant; Sam Peters, Mayor of Petersville; and McCormick Family of McComick Biscuits. Thoughout the cemetery you will find other well known London names such as Silverwood, Eccles, H.B.Beal, Ivey, Dowler, Duffield, Hobbs, and the Little family mausoleum to name a few. You will also find monuments of the victims of the Victoria Day Disaster, 1881, including the unmarked plot the cemetery donated to those families who can not afford monuments. Of particular interest is a double memorial to William Glass and Fannie Cooper, Two young people that were to be married who were victims of the boat disaser. Their monuments are of their respective family plots, but linked by a double arch. Other interesting monuments are: John Eskdale who lost his life in a fire in 1855 (the original monument was installed in Oakland Cemetery but is now illegible).His brother fireman erected a memorial surrounded by a metal fence; Samuel Peters, early surveyor; Robert Carfrae, a builder of the jail; Princess Amanda, wife of Charles Wetherbee, "daughter of George IV". A financial statement for the year 1894 included receipts of $2, 618.88, Wages $1,039.05, Telephone $44.66, and Postage $3.00. Number of lots sold 55, number of burials 274. The entry gate at the (formerly) Walker Street entrance were originally installed in 1904 at a cost of $1,200.00, then relocated to (formerly) Mount Pleasant Avenue) now Riverside Drive, in 1927. The gate post at the Oxford Street entrance were built and officially opened in 1959. The Cross of Sacrifice in the fist Veterans Section was built in 1921. Mount Pleasant Cemetery is also known for its beautiful assortment of trees including some rare species hat are characteristic of the Carolinian Zone, e.g., cucumber tree, tulip tree, Osage orange and red bud. As you enter Mount Pleasant Cemetery from Riverside Drive you will be greeted by magnificent Copper Beech tree. If you visit the cemetery in late April you will see two beautiful Magnolia trees in full bloom in from of the Chapel, not to mention the spectacular colours throughout the grounds in the fall. In the early 1980's Mount Pleasant took on the abandoned Oakland Cemetery and it was reopened with new burial options. All this information was taken from the "A History of Mount Pleasant Cemetery (London) INC." Brochure. It can be picked up at the office in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. NOTE: Some names and dates were researched on Find A Grave.